"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. I admire its purity. A survivor … unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality." - Ash to Ripley (Alien, 1979)
Thursday, April 3, 2014
ILike BrightFeathersand ICannotLie
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if the boys were the ones
who had the responsibility of wooing over a girl? Today it seems like girls are
the ones who are expected to dress up, do their makeup every morning, and stay
“bikini ready” just for the guys. I wish it were the other way around
sometimes…It would be nice to just roll out of bed, wear my pajamas to class,
and gain 20 pounds without anyone batting an eye. But wouldn’t it be even
better if you did all these things ladies, and the boys just couldn’t get
enough of you? This is the case in most animals, including birds. The male
birds go to extreme lengths to mate with a female. They undergo selective
pressures to get the chance to mate with a female. Sexual selection causes
the males to grow colored and ornate feathers to attract the females. Dress to Impress 
When thinking of ornately feathered birds, the peacock comes
to my mind instantly. Look at that difference between the male and the female!
Who knew that boys could look so much better than their female counterparts?
For this blog post, I am going to take a few steps back and shed some more
light on why so many male birds are prettier than the females. Charles Darwin
developed a theory that explains this occurrence . He proposed that the
traits that increase survival in a species are favored by natural selection. On
the other hand, traits that help a male win over females are influenced by
sexual selection. Sexual selection is the cause of the brilliant feathers on a
male peacock, the fiery red of a cardinal, and the red or orange on the crown
of a house finch.
Male and Female Peacock 
The Special One
So why are the males the more colorful of the 2 sexes? This
is because it is the MALES job to attract the female. The female can pick and
choose over whichever male bird she fancies. That must be nice… You may be
asking yourself why do bright colors or long feathers seem attractive to the females.
Why don’t they just choose any ole bird? This is because the females know that
the most attractive bird is most likely the healthiest and will pass on the “best”
genes to her future offspring.
Birds of Paradise 
Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk
Bright lengthy feathers aren’t the only things female birds
are after. They want a man that can be a great singer and exhibits a specific
behavior they deem attractive. An interesting example of this is in the
bowerbird species. The males create elaborate bowers (structures of various
sizes) and decorate them to attract the females. Each bowerbird has a specific
taste, and the male’s decoration displays their “personality”. Some like the
shiny beetle wings, while other male bowerbirds may choose flowers or berries.
The females drop by to check out the bowers and if they are impressed, the
males get to copulate with the female.
In some instances, the female bird can be more colorful and
ornate than the males of the same species. In these species the males incubate
and care for the young while the females fight over territory and mates. We
understand that the more competitive of the two sexes tends to be the more
In many species of birds, males go through daily routines of
prepping for the females whether that is arranging their feathers or testing their
vocal chords. It is interesting to see the many ways sexual selection plays out
in bird species. Males spend much of their time and energy growing out
beautiful feathers, singing for hours, and “dancing” in some instances. If you
are a man and think your girl expects too much of you, then remember that she
never made you build a bower with aluminum cans, fungi, and leaves before the first date.