When you think of birds, you probably picture something majestic soaring through the sky, or you may think of their bright chirps greeting you in the morning. In any case, the image in your head is probably pretty awesome.
And then there are these birds. These birds are very real, and they’re all living on the same planet as you. Once you see them, that may be kind of hard to believe.
The Victoria’s riflebird is really dramatic.
Like, really dramatic.
“Oh my GAAWWWWD!”
But it has one heck of a mating dance.
(Watch this .gif while listening to some fast-paced music. You will not be disappointed.)
The bird of paradise turns upside down as part of its mating display. Note the object of his affection checking him out from above.
“Shake it, baby.”
This bird knows that it’s all about the attitude.
It’s another bird of paradise. Evidently, they really like turning into weird shapes.
You’ll notice that the majority of this behavior has to do with mating. The things we do for love, right?
The superb bird of paradise turns itself inside out to impress the ladies. And you thought dating in the human world took too much effort.
The black sicklebill almost gets awesome points for looking like a master of darkness…
…but then it turns into this.
“Look, flowers and chocolate don’t cut it with birds. You have to turn into a weird oblong if you want her attention.”
The lesser bird of paradise kind of got shafted on the name, but it still puts on a good show.
And then there are some birds that are striking in their everyday appearance, which isn’t always…fortunate.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the helmeted hornbill is really challenging that right now.
The Sri Lankan frogmouth has an apt name, but don’t tell them that. They seem a little self-conscious.
1. Its name is the cock of the rock. 2. Where exactly is its face?
3. Who cares; you’ll never forget that stare.
The great potoo is, like, totally freaking out right now, you guys.
The blue-footed booby, whose name elicits giggles from everyone, has a more staid approach to attracting mates. It just lifts a foot. It knows that ladies love subtlety.
And let’s not forget the majestic dance of the Attwater’s prairie chicken.
And there you have it. These birds are taking birding to some totally new levels, and we’re pretty thrilled about it — even if we’re mostly confused.
