Masturbation among birds is ‘natural’ and should not be punished, say experts

4 months ago by aarch0x40 to c/nottheonion

Study finds activity is not harmful or caused by stress of captivity – and is in fact more common in wild birds
flamingo_pinyata 135 points 4 months ago

Who was punishing birds for masturbating in the first place? Why!?

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meejle 79 points 4 months ago

Researchers historically tended to assume birds either did not masturbate or did so only under the stress of captivity ... Accounts from hobbyists revealed that some owners had sought veterinary help when they caught their birds masturbating, fearing the animals might hurt themselves.

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Ceruleum 39 points 4 months ago

This explains all the bird watchers.

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wonderingwanderer 6 points 4 months ago

I would have just assumed they were preening...

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DarrinBrunner 4 points 4 months ago

Tomato, tomato.

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Soggy 1 point 4 months ago

Pretty big difference between preening and rubbing their cloaca on stuff. Ever had a budgie try and fuck your hand?

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wonderingwanderer 2 points 4 months ago

No, that's never happened to me. Got humped by a lot of dogs as a kid though. I thought they were just hugging me so I was confused when the adults yelled at them...

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Solumbran 45 points 4 months ago

People are HORRIBLE with birds. Even the ones that pretend to love them treat them like trash.

And then there's the fuckers that think that their views of the world matters more than anything else, and will punish masturbation because animals don't feel pleasure so it shouldn't be allowed, will punish them for having gay couples because gay shouldn't exist and especially not in animals (else how can you say your main homophobic argument of "gay is unnatural, only degenerate humans do it"), will starve them for "training" purposes, and don't get me started on the diets, environment safety and cage sizes.

There's a reason why the life expectancy of birds doesn't increase in captivity. People are really, really horrible with birds, and the more I read about people who "care" about birds the worse I feel for their birds.

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mirshafie 5 points 4 months ago

Being gay is unnatural, that's why you never saw a gay goat!

Actually, goats are unnatural. But you never saw a gay frog!

Actually, that's Big Pharma making the frogs gay. But you never saw a gay bird!

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DarrinBrunner 1 point 4 months ago

Gay isn't something one can see.

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Claidheamh 5 points 4 months ago

My browsing history disagrees.

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aarch0x40 2 points 4 months ago

I respectfully disagree. I do have this thing installed called “Gaydar”™️ though. Sometimes gets mixed signals if there’s a gay weather balloon near by.

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CompactFlax 24 points 4 months ago

“folk husbandry often advises bird keepers to discourage or punish this behaviour, sometimes even resorting to surgery and hormonal interventions,”

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flamingo_pinyata 36 points 4 months ago

TIL there's a cottage industry of preventing bird mastrubation

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irelephant 116 points 4 months ago
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vagrancyand 60 points 4 months ago

American Christianity punishes all ideas of enjoying sex, even among animals.

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Viceversa 22 points 4 months ago

But not between priests and altar boys, it seems

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vagrancyand 10 points 4 months ago

To be fair that's just Catholicism and not American Christianity ™®©.

Don't get me wrong, American Christianity ™®© has its share of pedophiles, possibly even more than catholicism, however it's usually straight because they just believe younger girls are more fertile.

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Avicenna 14 points 4 months ago

humans never cease to amaze don't they

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frightful5680 5 points 4 months ago

My mind blown

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weimaraner_of_doom 61 points 4 months ago

An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax, with the results providing welcome relief for vets and researchers, not to mention the birds themselves.

Asked if they showed any signs of self-loathing or Catholic guilt, Heys thought not. “I don’t want to say satisfied, but they do look different after they finish. It’s obviously doing something for them.”

Someone was having a little too much fun with this article.

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Gust 10 points 4 months ago

Sounds like the birds were still having more fun

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ipkpjersi 2 points 4 months ago

Orgasms feel good, more news at 11.

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ShinkanTrain 55 points 4 months ago

A bird wrote this

PS: Article delivers

An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax

Typically, males would be “rubbing quite vigorously” on their perch, a toy or a twig, or on their owner’s hand, foot or shoulder

Freaky ass birds.

Hold up. If a bird is bonded to you, and it does it, does it even count as baitin'? Sounds more like it's trying to mate with its mate. Or is bird-jacking fundamentally different? Bird experts... pitch in.

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Tonava 14 points 4 months ago
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yetAnotherUser 1 point 4 months ago

Can you explain why a bird bonded to you from early childhood would also be sexually attracted to you? To humans in general I could understand but why to you, the "parent"? Are birds less opposed to incest?

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DarrinBrunner 5 points 4 months ago

There's a difference between incest and inbreeding. Opposition to incest, that is sex for pleasure among family members, is a moral position, and apparently unique to humans.

Inbreeding, sex for reproduction, is blocked on a biological level more strongly in some species than others, but it still happens, of course.

In humans, and perhaps other species, there is sometimes sexual disinterest in closely related family members, but this is not "opposition to incest", and certainly is not universal.

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yetAnotherUser 1 point 4 months ago

Well yeah, inbreeding is what I meant. Didn't actually know there was a difference.

Still, I've read that many animals prefer not to fuck/breed with relatives. Except some pigeons in cities apparently, they prefer their relatives if Wikipedia and my memory of that article is to be believed.

Better phrasing would've probably been "Lack of sexual interest in family".

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Tonava 2 points 4 months ago
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YiddishMcSquidish 6 points 4 months ago

Not an expert, but I've witnessed something like this. Step mom turned into a strange bird person for her midlife crisis, got an African grey that absolutely hates all females including her, but loves all dude. It dude puff up and squat on your shoulder, but it wouldn't rub anything. Maybe it's different for male birds.

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Malyca 45 points 4 months ago

I'm sorry people are out trying to punish birds?

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HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 12 points 4 months ago

A seagull stole my chip. Are you suggesting I just Let That Go?

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Kolanaki 9 points 4 months ago

Look, man, I wasn't punishing them I just didn't have anything to feed them but cornflakes. I am not John Kellogg; I didn't think that shit actually would stop anyone masturbating. 🤷‍♂️

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ivanafterall 8 points 4 months ago

Some of them insist upon it, even if you've never SEEN a fucking flog, much less wielded one against a partner.

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ipkpjersi 4 points 4 months ago

Apparently birdkeepers are, yeah.

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webp 24 points 4 months ago

Who would punish them? 😭

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nexguy 8 points 4 months ago

Bird Jesus looks down on them all.

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tigeruppercut 5 points 4 months ago

BirDSM

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betterdeadthanreddit 24 points 4 months ago

Perfect timing, I'll have to print out a copy of this article for the court as part of my defense in an upcoming case where it's relevant.

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luthis 9 points 4 months ago

Oh no, another expert in Bird Law

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YiddishMcSquidish 7 points 4 months ago

In bird culture, this is considered a cloacal move.

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gedfromgont 23 points 4 months ago

If you’ve ever seen a bird masturbate, you absolutely know what that bird is doing.

Hilarious statement. So if I have never seen a bird masturbate, I would not know what the bird is doing? Wow.

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wonderingwanderer 3 points 4 months ago

As someone who's never seen a bird masturbate, I assumed it would look like preening. This sentence clarified that it would not look similar.

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stardreamer 0 points 4 months ago

That's a fallacy: P -> Q does not imply !P -> !Q

However, it does imply !Q -> !P: if you don't know what a bird is doing, you've never seen a bird masturbate.

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Microtonal_Banana 21 points 4 months ago

I dont care if it's natural. im not removing the "no masturbating" sign from our bird feeder.

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SethTaylor 6 points 4 months ago

I agree. Gotta keep the "bird seed" out of the bird seed.

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hanrahan 1 point 4 months ago

damn it, i was going to drop around for a session!

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quinacridone 19 points 4 months ago

I used to have budgies, one of the males used to chat up his (male) friend whilst perched on my head... and then he'd start grinding away while still on my head

Fortunately he never left a deposit

Freaky little (head) fucker

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cypherpunks 16 points 4 months ago

efforts to intervene, which range from removing perches to hormone treatment and surgery

wtf :(

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Rivalarrival 15 points 4 months ago

I believe the politically correct term is "Women". They tend to bitch a lot when you call them "birds".

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pastermil 7 points 4 months ago

I still do it the old-fashioned way and call them "chicks".

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HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 4 points 4 months ago

Oh dude broads hate it when you call 'em chicks

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pastermil 5 points 4 months ago

What a bunch of cucks.

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MrScottyTay 2 points 4 months ago

"Dude broads"

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HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 2 points 4 months ago

i don't ask where you go after 5 pm. i expect the same respect.

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Aceticon 2 points 4 months ago

No wonder that's a more common behavior in wild birds.

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M1k3y 13 points 4 months ago

Sounds like a good candidate for an Ig Nobel Price.

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Mr_Wobble 11 points 4 months ago
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flightyhobler 11 points 4 months ago

Funny how they picked the most pervert-looking bird for the article photo.

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obvs 8 points 4 months ago

What do you mean? That bird looks just like the President.

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baggachipz 10 points 4 months ago

Polly want a whacker?

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PrimeMinisterKeyes 6 points 4 months ago

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Gonzako 1 point 4 months ago

I dont get it mate. Mind explaining?

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animephantasm 2 points 4 months ago path: 0 24030892 24035943 24054063 24054398, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
ipkpjersi 10 points 4 months ago

Birdkeepers punish birds? That's a new thought lol

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wonderingwanderer 8 points 4 months ago

Then why do I keep getting punished every time I masturbate among birds?

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mechoman444 7 points 4 months ago

Who the fuck is researching this and what is the process of their information gathering?

Just a bunch of scientists sitting around watching birds goon all day going "ya, this seems perfectly natural!"

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MBech -5 points 4 months ago

More importantly, why should I give a shit about the findings and opinions of some seriously disturbed perverts?!?

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Gonzako 7 points 4 months ago

My masturbation ain't natural and mommy should punish me for it

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No1 5 points 4 months ago path: 0 24031321, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 0
aesthelete 4 points 4 months ago

Just wait until the GOP (grand old parrots) learn about this.

I'll see myself out.

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BlackLaZoR 4 points 4 months ago

Why would anyone punish birds for jacking off?

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hanrahan 6 points 4 months ago

you've not met conservative Christians ?

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BlackLaZoR 0 points 4 months ago

I did but not in US or UK

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Psythik 1 point 4 months ago

Cause I'm afraid that they'll get an infection from rubbing their junk on the same stick the poop in. If they made sex toys for cockatiels I'd buy them

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