A Wondrous Bestiary
Portraits of Homosexual, Bisexual, and Transgendered Wildlife
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Pied Beauty
      Glory be to God for dappled things —
      For skies of couple-color as a brinded cow;
      For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
      Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
      Landscape plotted and pieced — fold, fallow, and plough;
      And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

      All things counter, original, spare, strange;
      Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
      With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
      He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
      Praise him.

      — GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
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Introduction

      "A Wondrous Bestiary" presents a species-by-species survey of sexual and gender variance in animals. Included are profiles of mammals and birds in which at least some individuals are homosexual, bisexual, and/or transgendered. Only species in which same-sex activities have been scientifically documented are included here; for species excluded from this roster, see p. 673: chapter 1, note 29; for more on the (sometimes controversial) interpretations and categorizations of these behaviors, see chapters 3-5. Because each portrait is self-contained, it can be read either on its own, in sequence as part of a subgrouping of related animals, in conjunction with material in part 1, or browsed at random, according to the particular interests of the reader (the index may be used to investigate particular topics). Each portrait contains the following types of information, arranged sequentially:

      Heading: basic identifying information for each profile, including:
      * Name: common and scientific names of the species, the animal subgrouping, and an icon identifying the major animal type (e.g., primate, marine mammal, etc.).
      * Category: indicates whether the animal in question exhibits male and/or female homosexuality; the major type of transgender if present (transvestism and/or intersexuality); the types of same-sex behaviors involved; and whether homosexuality/transgender has been observed in the wild, semiwild, and/or captivity (for discussion of these distinctions, see chapters 1 and 4).
      * Ranking: an informal categorization of each animal in terms of the importance of homosexuality and/or transgender in the species, based on the variety and elaboration of behaviors, the frequency of same-sex activity, and the sexual orientation profiles for the species; categories are "primary," "moderate," and "incidental."
      * Portrait Drawing: a line drawing identifying one or more of the profiled species.
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      Ecology: background information about the animal and its environment:
      * Identification: a brief physical description of the animal.
      * Distribution: the animal's geographic range, and an indication of the species' endangered status if threatened in the wild (World Conservation Union-designated categories of "critically endangered," "endangered," or "vulnerable"; see pp. 708-709: chapter 5, note 17, for some discussion of these designations).
      * Habitat: a description of the animal's physical environment.
      * Study Area(s): specific location(s) and subspecies where homosexuality has been observed and/or studied.

      Social Organization: background information about the general social and mating system(s) of the animal, providing a behavioral context for understanding homosexuality /transgender in the species.

      Description: detailed information about the particular form(s) of homosexuality and/or transgender found in this animal, including:
      * Behavioral Expression: the type(s) of behaviors involved, with discussion of courtship, affectionate, sexual, pair-bonding, and/or parenting activities; and the form(s) of transgender, if any (behavioral or physical transvestism, intersexuality, etc.).
      * Frequency: detailed statistics (where available) or estimates of how often homosexual activity occurs, specified as the proportion of all sexual (or other) activity that is same-sex, and/or frequency rates, time/activity budgets, or other measures.
      * Orientation: what proportion of the population participates in same-sex activity, where individuals fall along the continuum from homosexual through bisexual to heterosexual, and how this is manifested during individual life histories.
      * Illustrations: photographs and line drawings of specific activities.

      Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities: summaries of various heterosexual activities that do not lead to reproduction (or that actively suppress it), along with family and pair-bonding configurations that deviate from the species-typical pattern or that are otherwise noteworthy.

      Other Species: summary of homosexual activities and/or transgender in related species, where applicable.

      Sources: a complete list of references for each animal, with an indication of which ones discuss or mention homosexuality/transgender.
      The appendix summarizes the occurrence of homosexuality (and in some cases, transgender) in other major animal groupings: reptiles/amphibians, fish, insects, spiders/other invertebrates, and domesticated animals. Included are tables and a complete list of references. {267} {268}
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