Birds, Sex and Beauty

In his new book, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley looks to the peculiar mating rituals of birds to better understand the rich origins and ongoing significance of Darwin's sexual selection theory. 'FASCINATING' The Times ‘Matt Ridley is one of our finest science writers … A treat for bird lovers and evolutionary biologists alike’ Richard Dawkins Animals rarely treat sex as a simple or mutually beneficial transaction.Choosing a mate is often a transcendent event to be approached with reverence, suspicion, angst and quite a bit of violence.For Matt Ridley, nowhere is this more acute than in birds. From a freezing hide on the Pennine moors at dawn, Ridley closely studies the rare Black Grouse.He is there for the lek - an elaborate courtship ritual of squabbling and strutting males.They dance and sing for hours each day to attract a mate over several months.With most males leaving exhausted and unsuccessful, Ridley looks at how females make their choice to cast fresh light on how such r