Lek mating

As Lek is called in biology a mating grounds, in which several males courting together around a female. The term is mainly used in ornithology, as in a number of types of different bird families this form of courtship occurs.

Typically, the courtship in the lek is for several grouse. The black grouse, the prairie chicken and sage grouse are among the polygynous species in which several males gather in arenas ( leks ) and present the females. When grouse six to twelve males gather in a rule in a lek, prairie chicken at eight or nine, when sage grouse even up to 400 individuals. Within such a arena each male defends a territory of their own. This is not larger than 1 m during mugwort chicken. The most sought-after places are located in the center where the territories are smallest. The courtship includes a large number of ritualized gestures such as nodding, wing struts, lining up and shaking of the tail, stomping their feet and leaps into the air. This will be accompanied by the sage grouse sounds that occur when sudden deflation of the air bags. The females then make a decision and mate with a particular male. When prairie chicken performs a single male 71-89 % of all copulations. A just such an imbalance exists in the Leks mugwort chickens, where 90% of copulations are performed by only 10% of males.

Also, the kakapo, an endangered New Zealand parrot, balzt Lek and competes with several males for the attention of females. The females that appear on the lek, observe the courtship of the males and select the courting of the male with which they mate. The Balzarenen the Kakapo are usually on high ground; during the mating season the males leave their ancestral territories and to pull this Balzarenen where each male creates its own mating grounds. Balzarenen can be up to seven kilometers from the ancestral territory of a male. With the arrival of the lek an argument begins among the males, when they fight with ruffled feathers, spread-out wings, open beaks, claws raised and with a loud croak and growl at each other for the best Balzplätze within this lek. Also birds are injured Occasionally in these battles. The individual Balzplätze are about 50 feet apart within this arena on average. The males dig for their Balzplätze one about four inches deep, cup -shaped depression in the ground, for example, has a diameter of half a meter, so that the birds fit in this depression. The Balzplätze be created like before rock Erdhängen or logs that reflect the sound of the calls. For individual Balzplatz part of a network of trails that are either about 50 meters along castle on a hill or walk around as a circuit with a diameter of about 20 meters a hill.