While humans may disagree on whether to embrace monogamy or open relationships, Zebra Finches prefer monogamy for life. And when raised in all-male groups, researchers at the University of California in Berkeley found that over half of the males nest up with other males, even going so far as to ignore females once they’re introduced to the group—”Talk to the wing, gurl. I gotta man.”
The male-male Zebra Finch couples nest together, sing to each other, regularly perch side by side, and greet one another just like opposite-sex couples do. The researchers theorize that the birds form same-sex pairs in order to ensure their survival. And while it’s unwise to infer things about human relationships from the animal kingdom, it’s still interesting to think what this means for students who go to all-boys or all-girls school or the coupling of same-sex pairs in human cages, err, prison.