How Animals Choose a Mate for Mating? 0 9

In insects, this ability is innate, and the main sign for recognition is not a visual image (although it is also important for butterflies), but the scent created by special substances — pheromones.

In mammals and birds, the perception of a potential mate is often formed through imprinting (that is, the lifelong imprinting of an image) based on the appearance of the opposite-sex parent. In this process, chicks remember the visual appearance of adult birds, while mammal offspring primarily rely on smell.

Cuckoo chicks, in turn, remember the voice: in childhood, their auditory system is tuned to perceive only those sound frequencies that are present in the “cuckoo” call.