A small male bird called a golden-collared manakin performs a difficult, elaborate, physically demanding courtship dance. In new research, life scientists report that female golden-collared manakins ...

Male birds that impress females with complex acrobatic movements tend to be smaller than females of the same species, probably because their reduced body size makes them more agile. In birds, it is ...

club-winged manakin© "club-winged manakin" by Gary T. Leavens is licensed under BY-SA 4.0. Birds make beautiful chirping songs, but have you ever seen them make music with their wings? That is one of ...

This story appears in the May 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. To see a manakin in action is to encounter a spectacular song and dance act in the middle of a tropical forest. About half of ...

Some species of male birds dance to impress their mates, such as the complicated dance routine of the little red-capped manakin or the flashy display of the male peacock. In other species, the males ...