Is there transvestites in animal species?
There are members of the animal kingdom where some individuals resemble the opposite sex rather than normal males/ females. An example of female like males; Ruff are a species of bird in which the males acquire distinctive breeding dress and gather to display to females, with the most impressive males attracting the most mates. A few years ago it was discovered that some males have female like plumage all year, which means that they are not seen as a threat by other males, and can sneak in to mate with the females attracted to displaying birds! There are also examples of females that look like typical males, for example, in many damselfly species a proportion of the females are of an ‘androchrome’ form in which the colours/ patterns resemble typical males – this is thought to help them avoid unwanted male attention when trying to lay legs. I am sure there are other examples (I think I’ve heard of something similar in some fish).
