Syracuse.com - Some springtime animal mating behaviors are spectacular: Oddities in the Outdoors

[HuntingNY-News]

Male rabbits bite the females on the back of the neck while mating with them.

It's spring and for many animals it's breeding time. Here are five interesting facts about animal mating behaviors.

1). Bald eagles exhibit a spectacular, death-defying courtship ritual this time of year. It's called "cartwheeling."

The eagles lock talons and appear to be engaging in "cartwheeling" a mating behavior common to bald eagles. Stephen D. Cannerelli [email protected] 

The male and female birds ascend to dizzying heights, lock talons and then begin a breathtaking plunged to the earth, according to eagles.com.

"Just moments before striking the ground, the eagles disengage and once again soar to the heavens," the website said.

The birds exhibit other, more safe, mating behaviors as well, including " pair perching, bill stroking and pecking, and overall body stroking with the bill," the website said.

2). You've heard the expression "breeding like rabbits." As a kid, I once raised rabbits and it's true - they're quite prolific when it comes mating. One thing I didn't know is that male rabbits, when mounting the females, often bite the female in the back of the neck.

Male rabbits often bite the female on the back of the neck when they mate.Dave Lassman |[email protected] 

"The skin on the back of a rabbit's neck is loose, with few nerve endings. When a rabbit bites to hold on, they are not hurting the other rabbit. It is simply a hold. When you have unneutered males, they will sometimes try to mount your arm or leg. While they're doing this, they'll bite - but this is not an aggressive bite. They're biting to hold on while they mate," according rabbitnetwork.org.

3). When it comes to squirrels, though, the spring has a different significance. They've been mating all winter (from December through February) and many females are already pregnant. The process is anything but romantic.

" When a female squirrel becomes receptive, which lasts less than a day, her scent will attract males from as far away as 500 meters. The males will compete for the chance to mate with her, with the most dominant male copulating with her first. Other males may get to mate with her after he is finished," according to newsforsquirrels.blogspot.com.

Afterward, the males go their separate ways "and have nothing more to do with the female or the young," the website said.

4). Springtime is also mating time for field mice, but it's no big deal. These little critters do it year-round, according to santharia.com.

When the female is pregnant, "The male will bring extra food and take extra risks for its mate," according to the website. "After maybe two weeks of pregnancy, the mother births three to five baby mice, all of which are blind initially, as well as deaf and bald."

Within three days, the baby mice will be able to hear and within one week their eyes will open. Within three weeks, the young ones are usually full grown."

Then mom and dad start all over again.

,Male spring peepers make a huge amount of noise for such little guys.AP 

5). Finally, I know it's hard to imagine right now with all the snow still on the ground in Central New York, but one of the annual signs of early spring is the mating call of the male spring peeper.

These little frogs winter in upland areas, nestled underneath dead leaves and bark. Once spring comes, they move to small wetland areas called "vernal pools," which fill up with water in the springtime but are dry during the summer.

"They (the males) inflate a dark, olive-colored throat pouch to nearly the size of their body and use it to push air over their vocal cords, repeating this cycle and making a sound when they both inhale and exhale," according to northernwoodlands.com. "Listen closely to a peeper chorus, and you'll soon realize that they play off each other, engaging in duets, trios, quartets, and more. Sometimes you can hear a bird-like trill, which males use to defend modest mating territories that range from about 4 to 16 inches across."

When will the peepers start? Some years it begins in early March. Not this year, though. It's usually after the first warm rains.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog