Birds of prey imprinting on a non-conspecific may do what?

• A. They will imprint on the environment instead
• B. They may attempt to mate with the imprinting species
• C. They will automatically accept the non-imprinted species
• D. They will never mate

Answer: (B)

Imprinting during a sensitive developmental period shapes who an animal recognizes as a potential mate. If a bird of prey imprints on a species that isn’t its own, that non-conspecific image can become the template for sexual attraction. As adults, the bird may attempt to mate with the imprinting species because that is the partner it learned to recognize as suitable. The other possibilities don’t fit how imprinting guides mating behavior: imprinting on the environment isn’t the driver of mate choice, and imprinting doesn’t automatically make the bird accept or reject mates based on imprinting alone. It can lead to misdirected mating attempts toward the species it imprinted on.