Birds of a Feather Flock Together
"People with similar interests or character tend to associate with each other."
Draws on the simple, observable fact that birds of the same species genuinely do flock together. The underlying comparison appears as far back as the apocryphal biblical Book of Sirach (c.180-175 BC). In English, William Turner used an early version in 1545 ("Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together"), and the phrase settled into its modern, recognisable wording by 1599, in John Minsheu's Spanish-English dictionary.
Sources: Book of Sirach (c.180-175 BC); William Turner, The Rescuing of the Romish Fox (1545); John Minsheu, A Dictionarie in Spanish and English (1599).
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