Parrots fight, and a bird's sex has no bearing on its tendency toward aggression or its struggle for dominance within the flock. That is the conclusion of researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Duke University who studied monk parakeets, according to infohub.kz.
In their work, the scientists analyzed the behavior of birds that form social hierarchies and found no differences between the sexes in who more often provokes conflicts or becomes their victim. Males and females display the same level of aggression.
Female and male monk parakeets are virtually indistinguishable in appearance, which prompted the biologists to test the hypothesis that they might be equals in behavior as well. As study co-author Elizabeth Hobson noted, the birds spend a great deal of time in small skirmishes over the best spots. Such minor conflicts allow the birds to build a social hierarchy and settle disputes without bloodshed, avoiding dangerous clashes that could cause serious injuries.
The birds also closely watch fights among their fellows in order to assess their own position in the group. The researchers emphasize that the study's results refute the familiar notion that males in the wild are always more aggressive, and they urge against jumping to conclusions about animal behavior without supporting data.