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Biology

This Bird’s Freaky Mating Display Comes Out Of Nowhere

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Most of the time, the male Superb Bird of Paradise is a fairly nondescript black bird. But when it tries to attract a mate, it flips its feathers around to create a fluorescent kabuki mask that you’ll never forget. In this video, ornithologist Ed Scholes explains how the bird creates the illusion.

You can find out more at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of Paradise Project.

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