Aberrant Sexual Behavior in the South African Ostrich

African arid veld (Sauer and Sauer, 1959, 1966a, 1966b, 1967a, 1967b, 1970; Sauer, 1970; 1971) the year 1969 was marked by exceptional ecological conditions. Unusual rains fell in the central Namib during March and April and yielded an abundant and rich vegetation. The herbivores found excellent grazing until the end of the year. It boosted the local populations and attracted immigrant species from the mountainous hinterland and other neighboring districts that had received little or no rain. The impact on the Ostrich was a mass reproductive activity which, in turn, triggered social stresses and incompatibilities among these cursorial and largely gregarious birds. The plentiful food supply allowed the Ostriches to produce many offspring several months before they normally reach a reproductive peak. Large numbers of chicks hatched from July through December 1969 and well into 1970. Normally the offspring do not appear in any significant numbers before late November o.r early December. Many sexually motivated adults did not start nesting, but remained in the communal areas where they performed sexual displays continually day after day. This not only prevented them from assuming their parental tasks, but also incited other birds to participate in the sexual displays even at the expense of their small chicks whom they abandoned. One o.f these strange and unusual activities was the males' display of homosexual behavior, the main subject of this report on a rare event affecting a whole population of wild birds. Homosexual behavior is defined as a sexual display directed toward a member of the same sex. Such behavior is known in a number of