Springtime is high-fashion season for the ruff. In wetlands across northern Europe and Asia, these medium-sized waders gather in marshes to form leks, which are small breeding areas used for courtship displays. Dominant males (also called independents) like the fancy fellow on our homepage, fluff up their colored and intricately patterned capes and collars and mock fight with each other. Their aim? Each wants to secure a prime spot on the lek to showcase his finery and entice watching females to choose him as a mate.
Making it work—in Norway
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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An unlikely friendship in the wild
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Mountain mists over Bavaria
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Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
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The Children’s Cultural Festival in Reykjavik begins today
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The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
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Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
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Let’s have a ball
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Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
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Of moose and Maine
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The Kelpies statues in Falkirk, Scotland
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Boxing Day—a shopper’s delight
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Opt outside today
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Harvest time in the Palouse
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Four Sisters, thousands of trees
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Space is for everyone
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Don’t get lost in there
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Celebrating Mexico in a Cultural Capital
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A Carpathian Christmas celebration
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Góða ólavsøku, from the Faroes!
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It s truffle season here in the Dordogne Valley