It takes some trickery for a male great bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis) to hold a female's attention. He spends a majority of his time building and performing upkeep on an intricate structure ...

In many species of birds, the males are far showier than the females. Males of some species might possess colorful plumage or exaggerated physical features to catch a female’s eye, while males of ...

Bowerbird males are well known for making elaborate constructions, lavished with decorative objects, to impress and attract their mates. Now, researchers have identified a completely new dimension to ...

NOVA: I've heard that you have used robotic female bowerbirds. Why? Borgia: One of my students, Gail Patricelli, has just gotten a paper accepted at Nature that describes how she has used a robotic ...

Right from its entrance, Disneyland is designed to cast an illusion upon its visitors. The first area – Main Street – seems to stretch for miles towards the towering castle in the distance. All of ...

Inherently, there’s a problem with the way we view the world: our world is three dimensional, while the image projected onto our retinas is just two dimensional. Therefore, without even being aware of ...

When male spotted bowerbirds collect sticks and other doodads to wow females, these natural interior decorators don’t search for the rare showpiece, according to a new study. Biologists have wondered ...

Gail Patricelli wasn’t so sure that courtship is really as one-sided as the ill-fated show “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?” where contestants strutted, and a watcher of the other sex selected. So, ...

Everyone likes a good optical illusion, and that includes at least one animal. Male bowerbirds woo females by constructing a bachelor pad that creates an illusion of uniform décor (and the illusion ...

What has green fingers but no hands? The bowerbird, if a new study is to be believed. Males appear to cultivate plants around the structures they build to attract a mate. Male spotted bowerbirds ...

Disneyland's a lie. Mickey Mouse, for instance, isn’t a mouse at all, but a costume with a person inside. The architecture, too, is deceptive. That giant castle isn’t as tall as it looks, because ...

Bowerbird males are well known for making elaborate constructions, lavished with decorative objects, to impress and attract their mates. Now, researchers reporting online on September 9 in Current ...