Far from amateurs on the dancefloor, males of the bird-of-paradise species known as Carola’s parotia practise their moves for hours a day before finally performing for a tough crowd of desirable females in a one-of-a-kind competition. Their nearly predator-free existence on Papua New Guinea has allowed the birds to develop an elaborate courtship dance of jumping, shimmying and shaking that is one of the most complex in the animal world.
A bird-of-paradise must become a lord of the dance to woo a discerning mate
Video by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Jungles in Paris
1 February 2016
videoEvolution
This bird-of-paradise in New Guinea sounds like something from another planet
4 minutes
videoEvolution
Do the Volgelkop bop: how a newly discovered bird-of-paradise dazzles his mate
1 minute
videoEvolution
The evolutionary value of ‘artistic‘ skills when predators are few
2 minutes
videoEvolution
Dilating pupils, wheezes and head-butts: the male bowerbird’s tips for seduction
4 minutes
videoEvolution
Dance or die! A male spider must impress a female with his moves, or be eaten
4 minutes
videoEngineering
For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest
4 minutes
videoEvolution
Like prizefighters, boxing kangaroos train for years for a shot at supremacy
4 minutes
videoBiology
Beetles take flight at 6,000 frames per second in this perspective-shifting short
9 minutes
videoBiology
One of the most wondrous markers of the end of the day is a murmuration of starlings
2 minutes