High-speed video reveals secret behind peacock mating display

Biologists have known for some time that peacocks use their shimmery, iridescent feathers to woo partners(known aspeahens) but they now have a better idea of what the frenzied feather shaking looks like to potential mates.

University of Manitoba biologist JamesHarestudies animal behaviour and communication and has had his eyes on the free-roamingpeacocks at Assinboine Park Zoo for a few years now.

"When I started watchingpeacocksat the zoo, I could see kind of like a standing wave set up in their train as theydisplayed.You could see the oscillationsof the train itself," Hare said.

Hare said some work suggests the birds are hearing the sound, but it's also possible they're feeling the bass.

"When you get low frequencies, you can actually feel the rumbling,"Hare said.

In a study published Wednesday, University of British Columbia biologistRoslyn Dakin,HaverfordCollege physicistSuzanne Amador Kane,Hare and others built on those findings andsay they've figured out what roletinyspecialized feathers play in the elaborate fanning and rumble.

Researchers recorded the low frequency sounds and played them back to the birds using a heavy duty subwoofer.Bothpeacocksand peahens responded to the sounds, Hare said.

The eyespotsareareas of great density in the train, where smallbarbules (a filament that extends out of a feather)are linked together with micro-hooks, Hare said. Those roughly 130 eyespotsor "nodes" are held together tightly and enhance the sound and sight of the display.

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"The eyespots appear to remain motionless against this background of a shimmering feather mass," Hare said.

Understanding the basic bio-mechanics of the display could lead to further research on how the"signal characteristics influence female choice of males," Hare added.

"Now we know there's a lot more to it more than meets the eye."

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