A pair of zebra finches in a cage
Animal Divorce: When and Why Pairs Break Up
Many species of birds and other vertebrates form pair bonds and mate with just one other individual for much of their lives. But the unions don’t always work out. Scientists want to know the underlying factors.
Animal Divorce: When and Why Pairs Break Up
Animal Divorce: When and Why Pairs Break Up

Many species of birds and other vertebrates form pair bonds and mate with just one other individual for much of their lives. But the unions don’t always work out. Scientists want to know the underlying factors.

Many species of birds and other vertebrates form pair bonds and mate with just one other individual for much of their lives. But the unions don’t always work out. Scientists want to know the underlying factors.

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monogamy
Infographic showing genetic and social monogamy in birds
Infographic: A New Look at Monogamy Across the Animal Kingdom
Catherine Offord | Jun 1, 2022
Advances in genetics in recent years has revealed that many apparently exclusive pairs in fact sometimes mate with individuals other than their partner, but social monogamy is widespread.
Opinion: Monogamy and Cooperation Are Connected Through Multiple Links
David F. Westneat and Jacqueline R. Dillard | Aug 1, 2016
Why does cooperation evolve most often in monogamous animals?
On Becoming Human
Mary Beth Aberlin | Aug 1, 2016
Some thoughts on going to the Galápagos
When Males Kill Young
Jyoti Madhusoodanan | Nov 13, 2014
Many social factors contributed to the evolution of male infanticide in mammal societies.
The Roots of Monogamy
Dan Cossins | Jul 31, 2013
A new analysis suggests that infanticide drove the evolution of pair living in some primate species, though another study reaches a different conclusion.