Bird Word: Courting Display

• Courting display: a display by either a male or female bird, or both, used to attract a mate with the aim of breeding.

Different species have different ways of attracting a mate. Some take on very attractive plumage, as in the male of the blue wrens of Australia. Others have elaborate displays with their feathers, such as the Lyrebird. Some build special structures like the Bowerbirds.

Some have a simple display of fanned tail feathers. We often see our resident male Crested Pigeons displaying by fanning out their tail feathers in an attempt to attract the female. Yet other species use song to attract a potential mate.

The courting display is a special behaviour seen from time to time in birds and is usually followed, if successful, by nest building and breeding.