Think About It

Written VERY early last Saturday morning...

I find myself once again up too early on a Saturday morning watching Marty Stouffer's Wild America. I was caught up in the story of the mating rituals of the Spruce Grouse, also known as the Franklin's Grouse.

The male grouse spends it's days jumping from trees in what is called "flutter flights" trying to get the attention of a female. One male jumps and flutters to the ground, making as much noise as possible and clapping its wings up over his back making a sound like a gunshot, then another male does the same. All the while, they are being observed by a female. After a period of days, or even weeks, the female finally makes her choice and joins the male in his territory.

At this point, the combs over the male's eyes begin to swell with blood and turn bright red. After a few more days of him performing a strutting fan tail dance, they finally mate.

Now, here's the kicker. After all the effort the male has put in to attracting the female, once they mate, she goes back to her own space, makes a nest, has the babies and raises the brood on her own. If she happens to wander back into his turf, he will run her off.

It is interesting to me how creatures of all species have certain parallels. Think about it. A male going out of his way to show out, impress and win the admiration and love of a female, only to leave her on her own when he succeeds in winning the prize.

That's not to say that all males are prone to this behavior, but look around. There are an awful lot of females raising broods on their own...