Do you know humans and birds have some things in common? According to a study, birds are similar to humans when it comes about falling in love, or choosing a partner. Researchers from Germany conducted a speed-dating session to know that birds too fall in love.

The speed-dating session set up by the researchers included about 160 birds. Groups of 20 female birds were set free to choose between 20 male birds. When the birds paired off, 50% of the couples were set free by the researchers to go off into a life of ‘wedded bliss’. For the remaining birds, the researchers split up the happy pair, and paired them with other birds in the study.

The researchers found that at the end of the study, the final number of surviving birds was about 37% higher for birds in chosen pair that in the non-chosen pair of the birds. According to the researchers, the results suggested that birds definitely have something to do with love. They fall in love like humans do, the researchers said.

The new study has been published in the journal PLOS Biology. The study authors believe their “speed-dating experiment might even make this sort of pairing off, or shall we say ‘falling in love’, a happier experience for the birds and even put them in a more successful position to reproduce.

According to the researchers, they found that birds that freely chose partners produced more eggs with higher survival rates that the birds who were forced to live without their chosen partner.