# Why the expression "The birds and the bees"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 18, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446 "2022-10-18T16:41:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/1 "2022-10-18T16:41:43Z")
I have been asking me this question for a long time. What do birds and bees together have to do with reproduction? The only interaction they have is that some birds eat bees and that a bird can be stung by a bee. Now in my native German, the corresponding expression is “Bienchen und Blümchen”, “bees and flowers”. That makes sense, because you can teach kids about the concept of reproduction by telling them how bees pollinate flowers, and then you can take another step to explain how humans do it. What am I missing?
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/2 "2022-10-18T16:48:35Z")
The implication is that there are two parts to the explanation: bees pollinating flowers (as you suggest) and the bird part presumably introduces the concept of fertilizing an egg that takes time before hatching.
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/3 "2022-10-18T16:50:37Z")
Ah, I see. Seems like we Germans just skip the step with the eggs. 😆
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/4 "2022-10-18T16:50:59Z")
Children will often and readily observe birds and eggs in nests as well as witnessing the bees and the flowers. Unless they live on a farm, or have a lot of cats or something, they are less likely to see live animal birth or mammals fornicating.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/5 "2022-10-18T16:53:22Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#):
>
> The only interaction they have is that some birds eat bees and that a bird can be stung by a bee.
By the way, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen cartoons and comedians humourously playing on the idea of a romantic relationship between a bird and bee.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/6 "2022-10-18T17:08:24Z")
Wikipedia has a pretty good article on it, actually.
> **[The birds and the bees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_birds_and_the_bees)**
>
> The talk about sex, often colloquially referred to as "the birds and the bees" or "the facts of life", is generally the occasion in most children's lives when their parents explain what sex is and how to do it.
> According to tradition, "the birds and the bees" is a metaphorical story sometimes told to children in an attempt to explain the mechanics and results of sexual intercourse through reference to easily observed natural events. For instance, bees carry and deposit pollen into flowers, a vis...
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2022, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/7 "2022-10-19T10:16:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#):
>
> **b** irds and **b** ees […] **B** ienchen und **B** lümchen
I can think of one contributing factor…
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2022, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/8 "2022-10-19T10:42:23Z")
Now I have [that song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjvsdhJ3q6c) stuck in my head.
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### Author:  [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-expression-the-birds-and-the-bees/973446/9 "2022-10-19T12:57:58Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#):
>
> Children will often and readily observe birds and eggs in nests as well as witnessing the bees and the flowers. Unless they live on a farm, or have a lot of cats or something, they are less likely to see live animal birth or mammals fornicating.
Hence the tale of a prim and proper Victorian vicar encountering a young girl driving a cow down a country lane. When he hears her explain that the cow is going to the bull in the next field, he says “But shouldn’t your father do that!” and gets the reply “Oh no, sir, it has to be the bull”.