Wanderman in the Wilderness

God's word applied in the world.

Birds Who Sing Together, Stay Together: Monogamy Lessons From The Fairy-Wrens

duet fairy wrenBirds of a feather flock together? Perhaps. Birds who fight off suitors stay together? On occasion. But, according to a recent study, birds who sing together are the most likely to remain monogamous. Or at least that is the case for the red-backed-fairy-wren.

The red-backed-fairy-wren has been called a “highly promiscuous species with high rates of extra-pair paternity.” Or, in other words, they “sleep around.” But a recent study conducted by biologist Daniel Baldassarre, an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Miami‘s Department of Biology, revealed that some pairs are far more successful than others at remaining monogamous.

How do the successful pairs remain monogamous? Surprisingly, it wasn’t the ones that spent their time fighting off other suitors. Wrens that displayed physical aggression toward an intruder had no statistical success at keeping their “marriage” pure. But pairs who sang a duet with their mate had a surprisingly high rate of monogamy. Singing! Who knew?

Now, let me admit: this is the animal kingdom. And all of this might be, quite literally, “for the birds.” But I can’t help but wonder if there is an application for the humans as well.

You see, the Bible tells us that “marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4). So, perhaps…just perhaps, many marriages could benefit from the “bird brains.” Basically: worry about others less, and sing together more.

A duet is defined as “two people performing together.” Most often, duets are musical, but a duet is also a beautiful description of a properly working marriage. A marriage is a song being sung by a husband and wife – together. Their song tells the story of their commitment to each other. Those who seek to please God will pray together, love together, and submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21).

When the duet is strong, the marriage will be too. So…as the song says:

Sing and you’ll be happy today, Press along to the goal,…https://youtu.be/ou9YaGhqwM8 (give it a listen; the song is a blessing)…

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