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Peacock coutship

To: "'Nathan'" <>
Subject: Peacock coutship
From: "Philip Veerman" <>
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:51:00 +1100
Sounds like someone has got their wires crossed. That sounds
nonsensical. For one thing males court the female, not the other way
around. The female is the one who decides. Of course everything in
evolution is an accident but it is also driven by a process, so it is
not without reason. The train of a male peacock is so elaborate and the
behaviour that goes with it is so extreme that it is absurd to suggest
it is not a huge advantage to the males who grow the biggest brightest
trains. So in that way it is not an accident, it is surely driven by
female choice over the generations (it is not actually a tail, it is the
overgrown rump feathers). 

Philip


-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of Nathan
Sent: Wednesday, 17 February 2010 8:55 AM
To: birding-aus
Subject: Peacock coutship


I was listening to an ol podcast of Dr Karl yesterday and he said that
the female peafowl decided whether to cout a male before she even sees
the males tail and that the tail was an 'Evolutionary Accident' I don't
doubt this as fact but I am wondering how on earth you would test that?

~Thanks
~Nathan Ruser

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