Dance: and the Birds-of-Paradise | Cornell / National Geographic

The bizarre dances of birds-of-paradise aren’t mere flights of fancy. Young males inherit those dance steps from their fathers, then refine them through practice and watching adults. Less obvious but equally important are the watchful females—look for them in these video clips. It’s ultimately their choices that decide which dances reach the next generation. The Cornell Lab’s Ed Scholes explains. Filmed and photographed by Tim Laman.

There are currently seventy-two short films in the entire Birds-of-Paradise Project playlist, ranging from 26 seconds to 8:29. In the upcoming weeks, we will present some of our favorites.

A film from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you.  [Chuck Almdale]