Courtship display

A set of behaviors animals use to attract potential mates or compete with rivals. Displays can involve movement, sound, color, scent, or constructed signals.

Sexual selection: Evolutionary change driven by differences in success at obtaining mates. Explains how mate-attracting and rival-deterring behaviors can evolve.
Bird-of-paradise courtship: Elaborate mating displays by birds of paradise, often involving vivid plumage, movement, and carefully chosen display sites. These birds turn movement, color, and staging into elaborate courtship performances.
Male-male competition: Competition among males for access to mates or reproductive opportunities. A display can intimidate or outcompete rivals rather than persuade a potential mate.
Runaway selection: A process in which preferences and favored traits reinforce each other across generations. Mate preferences can amplify display traits even when those traits carry survival costs.
Fisherian runaway: A model in which genetic preferences and preferred traits become mutually amplified through sexual selection. It remains a prominent explanation for the evolution of elaborate courtship traits.
Mate choice: A mating pattern in which individuals select partners based on particular traits or signals. A display can provide cues that potential mates use to choose partners.
Peacock courtship: The male peafowl's courtship behavior, including presenting and vibrating its ornate train. The peacock's train display is a familiar example of a visual mating signal.
Lek mating: A mating system in which males gather at display sites and females choose among them. Leks make competition through courtship displays especially visible.
Species recognition: The ability of organisms to distinguish members of their own species from others. Species-specific displays can help prevent courtship between different species.
Good genes hypothesis: The hypothesis that mate preferences favor signals associated with heritable benefits to offspring. It competes with explanations based on direct benefits or self-reinforcing preferences.

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