Hi Tweets,

If you haven't already seen this... from UKBirdnet...

M


>I p-p-p-pass on this without comment from today's Daily Telegraph (26/2/98)
>
>.... other than wondering if "Michael Brooke" IS THE Michael "Mine's a
>Manxie/Cuckoo/Puffin" (De la) Brooke?
>
>Penguins learn how to p-pick up a bit on the side
>
>By Roger Highfield and Michael Brooke
>
>
>PRACTITIONERS of the oldest profession have been found at work on the icy
>shores of Antarctica plying their trade in a dress of black and white
>feathers - they are penguin prostitutes.
>
>The first recorded examples of bird prostitution have been observed in
>colonies of Adelie penguins on Ross Island, about 800 miles from the
>South Pole, by Dr Fiona Hunter of Cambridge University and Dr Lloyd
>Davis of the University of Otago, supported by the New Zealand
>Antarctic Programme.
>
>They observed how male Adelies pay for sexual favours with rocks and
>stones, a limited resource that can prove crucial for the survival of
>broods. In no other bird have such extra-marital exchanges been recorded,
>said Dr Hunter, a post-doctoral researcher who has made annual visits to
>Antarctica to study their sex life.
>
>She described how, at the start of the breeding season, the penguins hunt
>for stones. Once all the loose rocks have been collected, they attempt to
>peck them out of the frozen mud to construct a nest platform, crucial to
>keep eggs high and dry above mud and chilly melt water.
>
>Stones are so valuable that they will steal them from each other, though
>they risk being attacked by the owners of the hard currency. In the journal
>Auk, Drs Hunter and Davis describe how females have developed
>another strategy: they lure nearby male penguins for sex in exchange for
>the rocks. "Females have figured out that one way to steal the stones
>without being attacked is to swap copulations for them," said Dr Hunter.
>
>They slip away from their partner and wander over to the nest of an
>unpaired male. Standard courtship follows, with a dip of the head and a
>coy look from the corner of her eye. If he shows interest, she will lie
>prone which, in the language of penguin love, is an invitation to mate or
>carry out what the scientists call "extra-pair copulation".
>
>Once mating is over, the female picks up her payment, a stone, and
>carries it to her nesting platform. Sometimes their customers are so
>satisfied that the females can return for second helpings of stones, without
>having to offer more sex. Other females found that a little courtship was
>enough to persuade a male to allow them to play with a rock, then cart it
>away. One especially teasing female managed to collect 62 stones this way,
>said Dr Hunter. "The males were probably duped into thinking that she was a
>possible partner."
>
>The zoologists are now analysing the benefits of penguin whoredom. While the
>male may lose some of his rocks, he gains the possibility of fathering extra
>chicks. The benefits to the females are less clear. "I don't
>think that she is just after his stones," said Dr Hunter. "Perhaps the
>female mates with an extra male for another reason, say to increase the
>quality or genetic variability of her offspring. This seems reasonable given
>that not all males actually father the chicks they help to rear."
>
>Another reason for seeking male company could be to form a relationship
>with a potential mate for the next season if her partner dies. The team is
>now planning another trip to the frozen continent to uncover more details
>of the penguin's complicated love life.
>