![\"american-avocet-8249\"](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/american-avocet-8249.jpg\" "\\"american-avocet-8249\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nAvocets are monogamous and pairs form up in the spring when the female\u00a0persistently associates with the male until she is eventually tolerated, then accepted as a mate.\u00a0 The female initiates copulation by the posture you see above.\u00a0\u00a0It’s called Solicitation Posture and in it she holds her neck extended far out and low.\u00a0 At times it’s so low that much of the head, bill\u00a0and neck are under water as you’ll see in a later image.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Once interested, the male performs\u00a0Sexual\u00a0Preening where he stands close to the female and extends his neck so that his bill tip can preen his breast (always on the side closest to her).\u00a0\u00a0 You’ll see that part of Sexual Preening in a later image but water is also used in in this specialized preening process where he places his bill in the water and stirs it around vigorously (as you see here) and then brings the water in his bill to his breast.\u00a0 The water splashing becomes more intense just before copulation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I find nothing about it in the literature but every time I’ve seen these birds mate, just as the male is about to mount her he places his bill on the side of her neck like this (you’ll get a better look in another image).\u00a0 I wonder if it’s just part of the ritual, perhaps to stimulate her, or maybe a way to help him stabilize himself\u00a0as he tries to mount her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here the\u00a0bill\u00a0of the male is still pressed against the side of her face as he mounts her.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The back of the female must be an unstable staging platform for the male so he rests his tarsometatarsi on her back to help stabilize himself during the process.\u00a0 I missed the actual “cloacal kiss” in this sequence because my buffer had filled up.\u00a0 Wouldn’t you know…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n To many, perhaps the most endearing stage of this mating display is immediately after copulation where the birds always (in my experience at least) briefly \u00a0cross bills like this and the male places his wing over the female in an almost loving way.\u00a0 Here the left wing of the male is wrapped completely over her back but it’s difficult to make out.\u00a0 Another image will show it more clearly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here’s\u00a0another sequence of different birds to show some of the stages from a different angle and hopefully more clearly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In this shot\u00a0the male is splashing his bill in the\u00a0water as part of Sexual Preening and the female is in her Solicitation Posture.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A better look at the way the male presses his bill against the side of her neck\/face as he mounts her.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I said before the females back is certainly an unstable platform and in this case the male fell forward off of her.\u00a0\u00a0 Made me laugh and feel sorry for them at the same time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another look at the Solicitation Posture of the female and the male doing the breast preening\u00a0part of Sexual Preening.\u00a0 Notice that he always preens on the side closest to the female.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A different view of the bill crossing after copulation.\u00a0 Here the wing of the male being held over the back of the female is very obvious.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Though not part of the mating display I decided to include\u00a0a few\u00a0images that illustrate some of the natural conclusions to the mating behaviors.\u00a0 In this\u00a0photo the mated pair are constructing their\u00a0nest.\u00a0 The female is on the nest while the male is picking up potential nest\u00a0building material.\u00a0 Sometimes he would toss it away after picking it up and other times he would deliver it to her and she would arrange it on the nest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0 Incubating the eggs.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0The eggs being turned.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The end result of all of this is a cute little ball of fluff with huge legs and feet.\u00a0 I’ve always found it to be extremely difficult to get a catch light in the eye of these young chicks.\u00a0 Don’t know why…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n