thephotosocietyのインスタグラム(thephotosociety) - 10月1日 04時33分

Photo: @Robert Clark | While reviewing images from ’The Curious History of Feathers’ from the Feb 2011 issue of @ナショナルジオグラフィック , I keep coming across some incredible variations on plumes. This is the feather of a #SuperbLyrebird (Menura Superba), an extravagant bird from the #Passeriform order found in the forests of Australia.

This bird species is most widely acknowledged for the male's ability to mimic sounds from their environment, ranging from complex birdsong to even mimicking the sound of a chainsaw being used in the woods. The striking beauty of the male lyrebird's feathers (comically resembling a lyre when fanned out) is important to their courtship displays when trying attract a mate. The courtship display of a lyrebird is just as complex as their birdsong; they create an open mound from the topsoil of the forest on which they sing and fan out their feathers in a grand dance to attract mates.

The tail feather above is ornamental and not a flight feather, which is an intriguing #evolutionary trait in that the feather serves the function of aesthetic #sexualattraction to a female, with some interesting workarounds to how looks can get in the way. You’ll see in the image above that the feathers are slotted; there are spaces between the #barbules of the feather, windows that let through light and allow the male to see when it fans the tail feathers over it's body.
#evolution #birds #feathers

@ナショナルジオグラフィック @Robert Clark @thephotosociety @instituteartists

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