鸟儿也有“断背情” 面对异性诱惑“hold”住

　　Birds can have gay relationships that last for life, say researchers。

　　研究人员表示，鸟类之间原来也有同性的“断背情意”，并且还会天长地久，持续一辈子。

　　They found that if isolated from the opposite sex, same sex birds will pair off with each other。

　　他们发现，在与异性隔离的情况之下，同性的鸟类将会与彼此结成伴侣。

　　The scientists studied young zebra finches, which are known for forming lifelong relationships。

　　科学家们以年轻的斑马雀作为研究对象，这种鸟儿便是以毕生忠贞不渝的伴侣关系而闻名。

　　When raised in same-sex groups, more than half the birds paired up together. When females were then brought into the male group, five out of eight pairs of males ignored them and stuck with their male partner。

　　科学家们饲养了一群雄性的斑马雀，有超过一半的鸟儿找到了自己的另一半。当有一只雌性的斑马雀被放到了这个“男人堆”里时，八对鸟儿之中的五对都对于这位“女士”熟视无睹，并且继续与自个儿的男伴情意绵绵。

　　As in their relationships with the opposite sex, they were found to be as 'attached and faithful', perching side by side, nesting together and greeting each other by nuzzling each other's beaks。

　　在斑马雀在与异性的感情关系中，它们会表现得十分的“恩爱和忠诚”，并肩栖息，共筑爱巢，通过相互磨蹭对方的喙部以此作为示好。

　　Lead author Dr Julie Elie, from the University of California, Berkeley, said:

　　研究报告的主笔作者Julie Elie来自位于伯克利的加州大学，她说：

　　'Relationships in animals can be more complicated than just a male and a female who meet and reproduce。

　　“动物之间的两性关系遥远要比‘雄性遇到雌性后便繁衍后代’复杂得多。”

　　'My observations of [them] led me to this surprising result: same-sex individuals would also interact... like male-female pairs.'

　　“我对这些鸟儿的观察所得出的结论让我十分惊讶：原来同性的动物个体之间也有会互动，这就像雄性与雌性伴侣那样。”

　　Her team, whose study is published in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, believes the same-sex pairings could be a strategy for survival, the birds teaming up to defend resources and fight predators。

　　她与研究团队所完成的研究报告发表在《行为生态学和社会生物学》期刊之上，同性的鸟儿们之间结成伴侣是一种求生的“策略”，它们会一起保卫自己的资源，抵抗掠食者。

　　'A pair-bond in socially monogamous species represents a cooperative partnership that may give advantages for survival,' Dr Elie continued。

　　Elie博士说：“在这种实行‘一夫一妻制’的物种当中，这种同性的伴侣代表了一种合作的关系，这将为它们的生存提供优势。”

　　'Finding a social partner, whatever its sex, could be a priority.'

　　“寻找到一个社会性的伴侣，无论是哪种性别，都是一件非常重要的事情。”

　　Dr Elie said there were several examples of same-sex pairing in the avian world。

　　Elie教授说在动物世界中还有很多这样同性伴侣的例子。

　　In monogamous gulls and albatrosses, it gave females the chance to breed without a male partner。

　　海鸥与信天翁同样有“一夫一妻”传统，不过雌性在没有雄性的前提下可以更好的哺育后代。

　　'Female partners copulate with a paired male then rear the young together,' Dr Elie explained。

　　Elie教授解释到，“雌性在与雄性伴侣交配之后，会主动的去接近更年轻的雄性。”

　　In captivity, there have been at least two cases of male penguins choosing each other over a females companion。

　　在人工饲养的环境中，已经出现了两个雄性企鹅会在选择同性而不是异性的例子。

　　Two male chinstrap penguins in Manhattan's Central Park Zoo, named Roy and Silo, bonded and paid no attention to females in their enclosure for at least a year。

　　在曼哈顿的中央公园里，有两只雄性南极企鹅，分别叫做Roy和Silo，在它们固步自封的一年中，对于雌性企鹅毫无兴趣。

　　They built a nest together, incubated and hatched a fertilised egg donated to them by one of the keepers。

　　他们一同筑起了个窝，并且孵化这只受精的企鹅卵，让直到小企鹅破壳而出。