Infidelity: Why one bird species cheats on their mates and what happens if they are caught

Animals in the wild kingdom cheat just like their human counterparts, and like humans they do so for a variety of reasons. Like humans, when they are caught their mates subject them to a variety of punishments.

According to recent Cornell research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, female starlings (a bird common to East Africa) are generally faithful avians but they do occasionally stray outside the nest, so to speak.

Starlings are cooperative breeders, meaning both the male and female starlings help with their nestlings. When the female feels that the male is not doing enough work the female starling may decide to trade sex for the additional help she gets from her "lover" by assisting in acquiring food and tending to the young.

If a female starling is caught cheating, her male partner punishes her by doing even less work in raising the chicks. In extreme cases the male starling may leave her to raise the little ones on her own (deadbeat starlings?).

Why do male starlings cheat, you might ask? It appears that similar to other animal species, male starlings cheat simply because they can. When there is a willing female they are only too happy to "spread their genes."

Good thing that we are people and not animals, huh?