ONE assessing the physics behind displays of courtship from male peacocks – Ask Us Anything !

Suzanne: Indeed, there are other species of birds related to peacocks that use feather vibrations in a very similar way during mating displays, including the Great Argus and a variety of Peacock Pheasants. Some birds species have feathers that make sounds due to vibrations driven by the passage of air over the feathers during flight,while others drive the vibrations using specially adapted feathers. There is an active area of research investigating such mechanical sounds and their possible roles in various kinds of signaling.