Mercury Poisoning Makes Birds Act Homosexual

Male birds that eat mercury-contaminated food show "surprising" homosexual behavior, scientists have found.

In a recent experiment in captive white ibises, many of the males exposed to the metal chose other males as mates.

These "male-male pairs did everything that a heterosexual pair would do," said study leader Peter Frederick, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

"They built their nest, copulated together, stayed together on a nest for a month, even though there were no eggs—they did the whole nine yards."