Tiny Bird Can't Bear To Say Goodbye To His Lifetime Companion

By
Andrea A.

The way we think about animals has been evolving for many years now, and scientific discoveries in the field of ethology in particular have given us new evidence: we humans are not the only ones to feel complex emotions such as happiness, love, sadness and...mourning.

Though we already know elephants mourn the death of a beloved member of their community, this video shared by The Dodo seems to suggest the loss of a loved one is just as painful for birds.

In the video, the little male bird edges closer to the female who was his former partner. He is obviously heartbroken, circling endlessly around the deceased and gently pecking her while he chirrups in distress.

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Source : @Fevkaladenin Fevki

The parent of the two animals filmed the moving scene when preparing to bury the little female who had just passed away, as he explains in the video's comments.

Though of course we cannot say for sure, the little male bird's behaviour shows clear signs of his anxiety and distress. He turns this way and that around his tiny deceased companion and even shows his protective instincts, launching desperate attacks upon the hand of the man who tries to take her body away.

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Source : @Fevkaladenin Fevki

Watch the soul-stirring footage here:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFBw4VWvi3g[/embed]But this isn't the first time that birds havedemonstrated grief at the loss of a loved one. Researchers observed magpies gatherround the body of a deceased companion and start up a strange type of "ceremony".Marc Bekoff of the University of Washington, explained to Sciences et Avenir:

We have no way of knowing what they are feeling or thinking, but going from their body language there's no reason not to believe the magpies are saying a final goodbye to their friend.