With a name like ‘widowbird,’ you’d expect this dusky male to have a low-key love life. But those 20-inch-long tail feathers are highly favored by females, even though they can make it difficult for the males to fly on windy days. The display has been the subject of much study regarding sexually selected traits and the tradeoffs between physical constraint and attracting a mate, since the tail feathers don’t seem to aid in flight and may even cause a hinderance. Ah, the things we do for love.
Longtailed widowbird at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Night of the ‘Cold Moon’
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Red-necked grebes during breeding season
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A day to celebrate teachers
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Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
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Aerial view of a heart-shaped field in Trittau, Germany
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Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
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Happy 50th for the National Trails System!
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Womens History Month
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Winter in Old Nuuk
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Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, Bavaria, Germany
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Salt of the earth
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A desert arts pop-up, just popped up
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Explorer of the sea
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What happened to these clouds?
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Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
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International Day of the World s Indigenous Peoples
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Oktoberfest
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New Year’s Day in the land of the rising sun
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Halloween
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It’s surströmming time
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Antarctica Day
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It s aboat time for the Barcolana
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Three cheers for polar bears!
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Happy trails for the 21st century
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A river runs through it
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National Bison Day
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The Easter Bunny’s story
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Mexican giant cardon cactus
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A Flag Day tradition
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Fossil Day