within their breeds..how do birds? Ok.....you will never see a robin mating with a blue jay or a finch mating with cardinal..or a parrot with a parikeet....how do they know not to mate with each other? Why don't dogs & cats know? Why aren't there mutt birds??? PLEASE HELP this is buggin me, lol!

Because diferent breeds of dogs aren't different species! Birds of one species can't mate with others due to a lot of reasons. Birds cue to mate with each other by displaying plumage, by song recognition, and by mating rituals.

Actually birds do occasionally crossbreed. Nothing quite as extreme as finch-cardinal crosses, but in captivity various members of the cockatoo family cross breed. For example Corellas can cross with Galahs, Major Mitchells cross with Sulphur Cresteds..... I have also heard of King Parrot-Crimson Wing crosses. The various species of Lorikeets often interbreed. It happens in the wild as well, but that is usually crossing between subspecies. For example, white-backed magpies often cross with black-backed magpies in areas where their ranges overlap.

I have seen erect-crested penguins nesting with royal penguins. They are the same genus but different species. It does happen in the wild .

Birds occassionally mate with different "species", but normally they are attracted to members of their own kind because they *imprint* on thier parents. The offspring are called hybrids. This is interesting because sometimes certain animals are called different species even if they can produce young. But if mating between these animals is unlikely (even if it is possible), scientists will consider them different species sometimes. Also, there are "mutt birds". You know those pigeons you see in big cities? Some are grey; some are brown and white; some are black. They're mutts! In N. America, their ancestors were once kept as pets. Those pets escaped, found each other, and had mixed-breed babies.Oh yeah--all dogs are of the same species. They all have the scientific name Canis familiaris.......even though they belong to different breeds. A "breed" is different from a "species".Wolves, tehnically, are dogs. They belong to the genus Canis, too, but because they normally don't like to breed with each other (or are unlikely to meet each other), are considered another species.Good question.