Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
When comparing lifestyles seen in nature to those carried out by man, there is enough variation so that almost any parallel one is looking for can be found. Those who believe the world should be run by women might look to the Montezuma Oropendola for support. Validation for this idea stems from the fact that it is the female who devotes herself to nest-building and the raising of the young. In contrast, the males fight with each other, seeking to become the dominant male in the colony. They operate under a female-defense mating system where the dominant male pushes out all the competing males until he is the only one left. This is similar to that used by polygynous mammals, but is unusual among birds. The position of alpha male is determined by which one can sing the loudest and produce the lowest tones. He displays these virtues with much bowing to impress the on-looking females. This works out fine for the winner, but as soon as he leaves to feed elsewhere, the other males will return to advertise their assets.
In contrast, the females are much too busy building their elaborate nests to have much time to devote to promenading. The nests themselves are long, hanging basket-like constructions, three feet or more in length, and built out of woven fibers and vines. In a colony there are frequently 30 nests, but one exhausted male ruled over 172! They are placed high in a tree which is separated from other nearby trees. Lest one get the idea that the females are devout pacifists, when a Giant Cowbird, a parasitic species, comes near their own nest, they will attack it and force it to leave the colony.
One last comparison should complete the analogy. The males are twice as large as the females with a 2:1 body mass ratio. This makes them one of the most sexually-dimorphic birds in the world. Some have compared their gurgling song to that of liquid being poured from a bottle. I almost hate to imagine the human picture you may have visualized of Buba on the couch with a bottle of Bud. Fortunately for us, none of us are forced into completing the analogy. We are free to make choices which reflect what we truly value. That’s a primary difference between mankind, created in the image of God, and those creatures whose behavior is instinctive.