Moorhens mating

This week the local pair of Moorhens have been mating. Females in Moorhens and Coots, and presumably other rails, have a curious way of inviting their partners to mate: They bury their heads down into their chests.

Woodpigeon mating

Although the Woodpigeon must be one of the most abundant and familiar British birds, a few days ago I was lucky to watch their courtship and mating at very close quarters, when a pair landed on the garden fence. I should have taken a video, but instead I ended taking a series of photos, which don't cover the full sequence. I saw, but did not photograph, the initial courtship feeding.

1. The male (on the right) had just fed the female, both move the bills, like swallowing. They are right next to each other and excited, note the contracted pupil in the male. The female sits down, crouching, inviting copulation.

2. The male mounts the female, balancing with wings open.

3. The male stabilises on top of the female, which remains motionless, with  wings spread (to make male balancing easier?).

4. Copulation, male flaps for balance, female leans forward lifting tail.

5. The male jumps onto the left of the photo, both partners (which are extremely alike in colour and size) fluff their neck patch and bow their heads in what looks like an aggressive display. These are woodpigeons in all their splendour, what amazingly beautiful birds they are!

6. The female actually turns away from the male, not a brilliant shot but shows how the neck patch feathers are raised. The pupil is very contracted.

7. The male remains in the post-copulation display.

8. Both pair members come together again and preen (I think the female is now on the right, and shows the initiative in caressing the male neck and head area).

9. The caressing carried on for a while.

A coot pair settles

Two of the coots have stayed in the park and today my suspicions that they were a pair were confirmed. They have shown a lot of interest on the nest that the moorhen who nested in the tree has built at the base of the tree on the water, on the free time allowed by the care of its now two chicks. But that will be something for a different post. On the top shot, one of the coots examines the moorhen nest closely.

Shortly after, the Coot was chased away by the Moorhen, the nest owner.

One of the coots calls the other with a trumpet-like call.

This morning, both coots were near each other. One of them picked a piece of stem and carried it to a clump of vehetation on the shore and rearranged it using her feet and bill. Then, the other coot approached and gave it chase closely, with the first coot swimming to the shore, standing and adopting the curious position of a receptive female, head curled down under her chest. The male then clumsily climbed on top, although he fell down before completing the copulation. I get the impression these are first time breeders, and the breeding instinct is just kicking in. The following are a couple of shots of coot mating pairs taken in another local park where coots are plentiful, illustrating the female position. They often mate on or near the nest. When they are on the water, the female actually submerges her head.