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Modified 13-May-20
Created 11-May-20
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Portola Valley is not New Guinea – but our woods spring from the same impulses as their jungles: plants need sunlight, water, and nourishment; a way to grow, and a way to reproduce. Our local Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is no Bird of Paradise, but its evolution has also been driven by the need for nourishment, and the need to reproduce. It performs a courtship display as well.
Returning from our morning walk, just coming out of the woods on the Mader Valley Trail toward Longspur: as Helen and our dog rounded the corner ahead, I noticed a Spotted Towhee moving about on the ground, and stopped to watch. Over the next ten minutes, he performed an elaborate mating dance. I think the female was impressed; I certainly was.
The dance started on the ground, in the bare trail and the nearby grass. He hopped and moved jerkily around, springing straight up in the air -- many times. In between, he spread his tail feathers, then back together. Turned around, repeated these dance moves. Not looking for food! In his beak: a carefully curated bouquet of multicolored grubs, which he held aloft and displayed throughout the dance.
Then he flew up into the trees. Lighting on a branch, a choreographed sequence: lift the bouquet up and down, left and right. Turn around to face the other way (sometimes). Repeat. Hop to another branch, gliding on open wings. Repeat. Repeat again. For ten minutes.
I tried to stay relatively still. Staying focused on the moving bird was not easy; branches were in the way; and the bright sun came from behind the performer. Still, I think I captured enough photos to satisfy most of you. (If you want to see more, let me know.)
Another bird, presumably the female, was also about – but I was busy enough capturing the performance. Afterwards, they flew off together.
In this time of human social distancing, the birds are still celebrating spring. So if you have watched enough RomComs this week, take a while to experience another courtship display. Enjoy!
Question: is this dance an example of convergent evolution with the (corvid) Bird of Paradise – or has it been handed down from some distant dinosaur ancestor?
Bonus: at the end, find to photos from July last year. Same location, different bouquet, different bird. Another mating dance, though I didn't know what I was looking at at the time. The bouquet gives it away.
At the end are details of the bouquet of grubs from some of these photos, just to see in detail what the bird had in his beak: from 2020, then from 2019.