Perhaps you’ve heard that many bird species are monogamous, including swans and whooping cranes. But have you ever wondered how these long term lovers get together? Do they “date”, or is it love (and breeding) at first sight? These scientists set out to answer these questions by studying the life history of the whooping crane. They found that “a substantial portion (62%) of breeding pairs started associating at least 12 months before first breeding, with 16 of 58 breeding pairs beginning to