Endemic to the rainforests of New Guinea, flame bowerbirds possess one of Earth’s most distinctive courtship rituals. In this excerpt from the BBC’s ‘Life Story’ series, a brilliantly coloured male bowerbird builds, dilates his pupils, wheezes, dances like a matador and head-butts, all in the service of securing a mate.
Dilating pupils, wheezes and head-butts: the male bowerbird’s tips for seduction

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