When winter bites, you might think birds would focus on finding food, but for some, love conquers all.

Great tits in Oxfordshire woods sacrificed sustenance in order to stay close to their mate, a study found.

And it was not just the females that were lovely-dovey. Males also stuck by their other half, rather than flying off to find food.

Great tits sacrificed sustenance in order to stay close to their mate, a study has found. And it was not just the females that were lovely-dovey, males also stuck by their other half rather than flying off to find food

This, said the Oxford University scientists, shows just how important relationships are – even to wild birds.

Zoologist Josh Firth studied 17 pairs of great tits that had been tagged with anklets that emitted a signal which unlocked feeders packed with sunflower seeds.

In some cases, the signals were set so that both members could access the same feeder. In others, there was a mismatch, with the male barred from the female’s food supply and vice versa.

Three months of monitoring revealed that birds flocked to feeders that they couldn’t open, if their partner fed there.

In fact, those in mismatched pairs spent four times more time than the other birds at feeders that were off limits.

Dr Firth said: ‘We were quite surprised to see that the pairs chose to stay together than go where they could get food themselves.

Months of monitoring revealed that birds flocked to feeders that they couldn’t open – if their partner fed there

‘They stuck with their partner and spent a lot more time at the feeder they couldn’t access.’

One consequence of this was that, much like a humans in new relationships, they had little option but to spend time with their other half’s friends.

Dr Firth said: ‘Because those birds choose to stay with their partners, they also end up associating with their partner’s flock-mates, even if they wouldn’t normally associated with this individuals.

‘This shows how the company an individual bird keeps may depend on their partner’s preferences as well as their own.’

The journal Current Biology reports that the great tits were likely playing the long game.

By staying with their mate, they were cementing a relationship that could lead to chicks and allow their genes to live on.

Dr Firth only studied great tits, but with most wild birds pairing up for at least one breeding season, he believes many species would behave similarly.

However, despite their devotion, the love birds did not waste away.

The great tits gradually realised that a feeder didn’t lock for a second or two after a bird took its fill.

This led to a bird barred from a feeder tailgating its partner and swooping in for food as he or she flew away.