Long-tailed widowbird male, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa

Long-tailed widowbird male, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa

With a name like ‘widowbird’, you’d expect this dusky male to have a low-key love life. But those 20-inch-long tail feathers are highly favoured by females, even though they can make it difficult for the males to fly on windy days. The display has been the subject of much study regarding sexually selected traits and the trade-offs between physical constraint and attracting a mate, since the tail feathers don’t seem to aid in flight and may even cause a hindrance. Ah, the things we do for love.