How do birds mate? Features of the reproductive system

The bird class is a separate progressive branch of animals. They came from reptiles. Animals of this group, however, were able to adapt to the flight.

Before turning to the question of how birds mate, consider their biology.

General characteristics of the class

Progressive features of the organization are as follows.

1. A high level of development of the nervous system and, consequently, a wide variety of adaptive behavior options .
2. Constant high body temperature, which is due to intensive metabolism.
3. In comparison with the sub-types and classes of animals, birds have a more perfect reproduction mechanism, which is expressed in hatching eggs and rearing offspring.
4. The availability of adaptive organs for flight and at the same time the ability to move around the surface of the land, and in some species - the ability to swim and navigate the water surface.

The above features of the class allowed these animals to spread all over the globe.

Sexual organs of males

Testes are a pair of bean-shaped bodies that are located above the upper part of the kidneys. They are suspended on a mesentery. The size of testes varies throughout the year. During the breeding season, these organs increase. So, for a finch, for example, they can increase 1125 times, and in an ordinary starling 1500 times.

To the inside of the testes, small appendages are attached. From them depart the vas deferens, stretching parallel to the ureters and flowing into the cloaca. There are species of birds in which the vas efferens form small extensions - seminal vesicles, which serve as a kind of reservoir for sperm.

The copulatory organ is not available in all species. The functioning penis in birds is the protrusion of the cloaca. He is present in ostriches, tinamu, goose. In the bustards, storks and herons, the copulatory organ is of a rudimentary nature.

Answering the question of how birds pair, it is worth noting that in most species fertilization occurs due to the maximum closeness of the holes of the female and male cloaca when the male ejaculates the sperm.

Sexual organs of females

A feature of the development of the reproductive system of females in birds is that it is sharply asymmetric in most species, i.e. Consists of the left ovary and the left oviduct. The right ovary develops only in a few birds: eiders, owls, chickens, shepherds, parrots, some day predators. But even a well-developed gland rarely functions in this case. It happens that the ripe egg in the right ovary is excreted through the left oviduct.

The reason for this asymmetry is that the female birds lay large eggs with a hard shell, which move along the oviduct long enough - about 2 days.

The ovary is a grainy body of irregular shape. It is located in front of the kidney. The size of the ovary depends on the maturity of the egg in it.

Oviduct is a long tube through which the ripe egg moves. It is connected at one end to the cloaca, and the other to the body cavity.

The oviduct consists of several departments. The first is rich in special glands that secrete protein. In this department the egg is about 6 hours and covered with the first protective layer. The second section is thinner, where the egg is covered with sub shell shells. The next department of the oviduct is the uterus. In it, the egg is about 20 hours. Here, a calcareous shell and various pigments are formed which color it. The last department is the vagina, from which the egg enters the cloaca, and then outward.

All the time of passage of the egg along the oviduct in the chicken is about 24 hours, the pigeon has 41 hours.

Poultry breeding features

Despite the general pattern of reproduction, each species of birds is individual.

Studying the question of how birds are mated at home, such as chicken for example, it is worth remembering that they can carry eggs without a male. This means that the outgoing egg will be unfertilized.

Testes of males begin to function, increase in size - males are ready to begin fertilization. There is a transfer of genetic material to females, which after a certain period begin to lay eggs. The number of them varies from bird species to species.

At different times of the year, birds multiply. The biology of species is very diverse. If one species is ready for reproduction in early spring, then the other is only in the middle of summer. Some birds lead a sedentary lifestyle and nest in the same place, while others come from distant lands for the period of nesting and reproduction.

To better understand how birds of a certain species pair, it is necessary to study the individual characteristics of the sexual system of its representatives.