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    Dilating pupils, wheezes and head-butts: the male bowerbird’s tips for seduction

    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.

    8 December 2015
    A small bird with black, white and yellow plumage singing while perched on a branch in a green forest setting

    videoEvolution

    This bird-of-paradise in New Guinea sounds like something from another planet

    4 minutes

    Two birds on a branch in a forest, one with a bright chest, the other black with wings spread, blurred green background.

    videoEvolution

    The evolutionary value of ‘artistic‘ skills when predators are few

    2 minutes

    Five brown birds perched on a branch in a forest with a black bird displaying its wings on the ground below.

    videoBiology

    A bird-of-paradise must become a lord of the dance to woo a discerning mate

    2 minutes

    A male bird-of-paradise displaying its dark black plumage with a striking blue breast in a rainforest setting.

    videoEvolution

    Do the Volgelkop bop: how a newly discovered bird-of-paradise dazzles his mate

    1 minute

    Bright yellow bird building a nest with grass on a branch surrounded by green leaves.

    videoEngineering

    For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest

    4 minutes

    Close-up of a colourful peacock spider with iridescent markings on its body, standing on a wooden surface.

    videoEvolution

    Dance or die! A male spider must impress a female with his moves, or be eaten

    4 minutes

    Close-up of an insect’s face showing its large compound eyes, antennae, and mouthparts with a dark background.

    videoBiology

    How crafty and deadly codebreakers complicate the business of firefly love

    4 minutes

    A dark cave ceiling illuminated by numerous glowing blue lights, resembling a starry night sky.

    videoBiology

    Glow worms mimic stars, creating a stunning faux night sky in a New Zealand cave

    4 minutes

    A kangaroo standing upright against a background of trees and a partly cloudy sky with a direct, focused gaze.

    videoEvolution

    Like prizefighters, boxing kangaroos train for years for a shot at supremacy

    4 minutes