In many species of birds, the males are far showier than the females. Males of some species might possess colorful plumage or exaggerated physical features to catch a female’s eye, while males of ...

It takes some trickery for a male great bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis) to hold a female's attention. He spends a majority of his time building and performing upkeep on an intricate structure ...

Bowerbird males are well known for making elaborate constructions, lavished with decorative objects, to impress and attract their mates. Now, researchers have identified a completely new dimension to ...

Right from its entrance, Disneyland is designed to cast an illusion upon its visitors. The first area – Main Street – seems to stretch for miles towards the towering castle in the distance. All of ...

Everyone likes a good optical illusion, and that includes at least one animal. Male bowerbirds woo females by constructing a bachelor pad that creates an illusion of uniform décor (and the illusion ...

Charles Darwin scratched his head over the purpose of bowers, the carefully tended sex dens of the bowerbird. But few scientists had conducted studies of these ornate constructions and their earnest ...

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Vol. 53, No. 5 (Apr., 2003), pp. 263-268 (6 pages) Females from a wide range of species have been shown to prefer males producing exaggerated, elaborate sexual ...

This is a preview. Log in through your library . Abstract Male Satin Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) court females at specialized structures called bowers. Courtship includes a complex pattern ...

When male spotted bowerbirds collect sticks and other doodads to wow females, these natural interior decorators don’t search for the rare showpiece, according to a new study. Biologists have wondered ...

Gail Patricelli wasn’t so sure that courtship is really as one-sided as the ill-fated show “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?” where contestants strutted, and a watcher of the other sex selected. So, ...

Bowerbird males are well known for making elaborate constructions, lavished with decorative objects, to impress and attract their mates. Now, researchers reporting online on September 9 in Current ...

NOVA: I've heard that you have used robotic female bowerbirds. Why? Borgia: One of my students, Gail Patricelli, has just gotten a paper accepted at Nature that describes how she has used a robotic ...