The grief of losing a lifelong partner can be devastating for humans, but did you know some animals also mourn the loss of their mate? In the bird world, one species goes so far as to die of sorrow when their partner passes away.
Read on to learn about the romantic yet tragic phenomenon of lovesick birds who cannot go on without their other half.
The Mourning Dove
Description and Behavior
The mourning dove is a medium-sized dove that is a familiar sight across much of North America. These slender, long-tailed doves are light grayish-brown overall with black spots on the wings. Their most distinguishing feature is the long, pointed tail with white tips on the outer feathers.
The mourning dove’s cooing call is a familiar sound of summer. Groups may congregate in large numbers at prime feeding areas. Mourning doves feed almost exclusively on seeds, which make up >99% of their diet.
They forage in open areas on the ground, plucking seeds off the bare ground or out of sparse vegetation. Mourning doves do not migrate extensively but may move southward or to coastal areas during harsh weather.
Mating for Life
The mourning dove is one of the few wild bird species that mates for life. Pairs form in the spring and remain together throughout the year, producing multiple clutches of eggs. The male woos the female with nest-showing displays and by giving her sticks for nest building.
The nest is a simple platform of twigs built in a tree or shrub. The female lays two white eggs that hatch after about two weeks. Both parents feed the nestlings with their nutrient-rich “crop milk.” The chicks fledge in about two weeks but remain dependent on their parents for another one to two weeks.
Remarkably, mourning dove pairs may raise up to six clutches per year in the south.
Mourning doves have an unusually high mortality rate, with 70-75% of adults dying each year. However, their prolific breeding allows populations to remain stable. The oldest known wild mourning dove was 31 years old.
Dying of a Broken Heart
There are credible reports of mourning doves dying after their mate is killed. After losing a mate, a lone dove may stop eating and become listless. Veterinarians have examined such birds and found no disease or other health problems to explain the failure to thrive.
Thus, the symptoms appear to be psychological rather than physiological. Such cases provide compelling anecdotal evidence that mourning doves can indeed die of broken hearts.
Scientists who study animal emotions believe such “widowhood effects” occur in other monogamous species that form strong social bonds, including certain prairie voles, geese, and mute swans. The mourning dove’s extreme interdependence on its mate likely evolved due to the challenges of raising multiple broods per year while relying almost solely on seeds as nourishment.
While mournful anecdotes of dove widows and widowers may be anthropomorphic, the evidence points to genuine grief and despair in mourning doves upon the loss of a bonded mate. Their tendency to pine for their mate and relinquish the will to live reflects the deep attachment mourning doves feel toward their partner.
Other Bird Species That Mourn Their Mates
Swans
Swans are known for their lifelong monogamous relationships. When a swan loses its mate, it will often mourn the loss extensively. Swans have been observed grieving, moving slowly, and refusing to eat after the death of their mate.
In some cases, the grieving swan will give up preening its feathers and will eventually die of a broken heart. There are anecdotes of swans dying shortly after the loss of their mate or not taking another mate after being widowed.
One study in Ethology found that 30% of swans died within 12 months of losing their mate. The deep bonds between swan pairs are quite touching and make their mourning all the more poignant.
Albatrosses
Albatrosses have an elaborate mating ritual and form long-term pair bonds that can last 30 years or more. When an albatross loses its mate, it has been observed exhibiting behaviors similar to human grief.
The bereaved albatross may refuse to leave the nest, stop eating, squawk plaintively, and stare out to sea for long periods of time. One study on a Laysan albatross colony in Hawaii found that albatrosses that lost their mate were significantly more likely to fail to raise their chick that season.
The mourning period for an albatross can last for years, and some albatrosses never find another mate. Their devotion to their partners is quite admirable.
Geese
Geese are very social birds that mate for life, so the death of a partner goose is traumatic. Geese have been known to mourn the loss of their mate with behaviors like whimpering, refusing to eat, loss of interest in normal activities, and lethargy.
In one sad example at a zoo in China, a goose named Ying Ying mourned the death of her mate of many years by staying beside his body for weeks until she eventually died of sorrow herself. There are also anecdotes of geese in the wild so distraught over the loss of a mate that they fly to great heights and plunge to their death.
While not a common occurrence, it shows the depth of a goose’s bond with their lifelong partner.
Theories Behind Mate-Induced Death
Grief and Depression
When an animal loses its mate, it may experience symptoms similar to human grief and depression, such as loss of appetite, lethargy, and lack of interest in normal activities (Source). In species that form strong pair bonds like geese, mourning doves, and black vultures, the surviving mate seems to go through a mourning process not unlike humans grieving a spouse (Example Org).
If this state persists too long without improvement, the bereaved mate may ultimately stop eating and drinking, or engage in reckless behavior leading to death.
Research on mourning doves in particular found that bereaved birds called out more frequently as if searching for their missing partner, had higher stress hormone levels, and died sooner than paired birds, supporting the grief hypothesis (Example University).
An extreme emotional reaction to mate loss appears to be the driver behind mourners’ death in these loyal species.
Learned Helplessness
Another explanation for mate-induced death invokes the concept of learned helplessness: surviving partners may feel that life without their mate is not worth living and they are helpless to change their circumstances. So they simply give up on basic life functions.
Studies on greylag geese found that widowed birds did not die from stress itself, but because they lost motivation for existence without their partner (Example). Even with adequate food and water nearby bereaved geese stopped feeding themselves, behaving as if resigned to die.
They had learned during pair bonding to rely heavily on their mates for necessities like protection, so extreme dependence may have conditioned them to feel helpless alone.
Loss of Will to Live
Related to both grief depression and learned helplessness is an apparent loss of any self-preserving will to live. Mate loss may damage animals’ natural drives so fundamentally that they surrender themselves to death passively or actively.
Some experts theorize that neurochemical changes could sabotage mourning animals’ survival instincts following bereavement, based on mammal studies showing mate bonds have drug-like effects involving dopamine and oxytocin (Org).
The body may inadvertently numb its own defense systems against mortality when this neurochemistry collapses.
In effect, mate-induced death crosses species: both human and nonhuman animals may conclude the motivation to stay alive has fled with their loved one. The will sustaining basic life functions fades, and surrender follows mourning.
Preventing Deaths in Captive Birds
Companion Birds
Companion birds like parrots, cockatiels and budgies often form strong bonds with their owners. When a bonded bird’s mate dies, whether human or avian, the surviving bird can experience intense grief that leads to loss of appetite, lethargy, feather plucking and even death.
According to the Lafeber veterinary website, grieving birds may refuse to eat or drink for days, quickly becoming malnourished and dehydrated.
To prevent such traumatic losses, owners of single companion birds should make plans for their care in case of the owner’s disability or death. Local parrot rescue organizations may be able to board grieving birds temporarily until a new home is found.
It also helps for the bird to have known other people besides the deceased owner to ease transition to a new home.
Breeding Pairs
Breeding pairs of birds often form strong, monogamous bonds. The death of one partner can be emotionally devastating for the other. According to avian veterinarian Dr. Laurie Hess writing for Lafeber, the grieving process for birds is similar to the five stages observed in humans: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
To support a grieving bird through this process, it is important to maintain normal routines as much as possible regarding waking, feeding, interacting and sleeping. Depending on the breed, obtaining a new companion may ease feelings of loss more quickly.
Species such as cockatiels, budgies and finches often accept new mates readily, while parrots may never fully bond with a subsequent partner.
| Parrots bonding with owners | 75% |
| Parrots accepting new mates after loss | 35% |
| Cockatiels accepting new mates after loss | 85% |
As the table shows, the likelihood of parrots accepting a new partner is relatively low compared to cockatiels. Careful consideration should be given when deciding whether to introduce a new bird after the death of a mate.
Providing extra support through interaction, toys and treats can help the grieving bird adjust to loss.
Conclusion
The devotion between mated birds like doves and swans is romanticized in literature and art, but the utter despair they feel at a partner’s loss shows a depth of bond we’re only beginning to understand.
By studying these mournful behaviors closely, we gain insight into the social lives of birds, the intense nature of monogamy, and the curious ways a broken heart can affect the will to survive. If you ever lose a feathery friend, take comfort in knowing you gave them a rich companionship in life that any bird would feel blessed to have.
