Made to Multiply

Rhythm of the Heart

Male palm cockatoos tap out a beat to impress a potential mate. If a female is nearby, a male will use his beak to whittle a drumstick out of a seed pod or stick. The female watches attentively as he carves. Once his tool is finished, the male drums a unique rhythm on the side of a tree in hopes of charming his adoring audience.

Artistic Amóre

A male white-spotted puffer fish wins over a potential mate by dragging his belly and fins across the ocean floor to create intricate circular sand art. After the male works 24 hours a day for about a week, the design can measure nearly 7 feet (2 m) in diameter. The male might even decorate his masterpiece with shells. If a female likes what she sees, she lays her eggs in the circle’s center.

Crocodile Crush

Male crocodiles court a female by rubbing snouts with her. Even tough crocodiles seem to have a soft spot for their mates.

Dancing King

Around sunset, a group of female mandarin fish gathers on a Pacific reef to watch multicolored males perform a vibrant dance. If a female is attracted, she’ll join the male for a dance, resting on his pelvic fin. Cheek to cheek, the two will swim off into the sunset—or something like that.

Dressed to Impress

A male fan-throated lizard is always dressed to impress with his colorful throat flap, called a dewlap. To court a mate, he’ll extend his throat fan rapidly in a dramatic dewlap display.

Dating Call

A female three-toed sloth doesn’t wait around for a male to notice her. When she’s ready to mate, she signals to nearby males by screaming. Any interested male will then compete to be her beau by hanging from his feet and pawing at other suitors until one has won.

Love Nest

A male bowerbird takes his honey-do list very seriously. To impress females, he constructs an elaborate stick structure called a bower. Some species of bowerbirds will decorate the bower floors with flower petals, small manmade objects, and feathers.

Falling in Love

The broad-tailed hummingbird has a heart-stopping way to prove his worth to a female. He flies high and dives headfirst in a flash of iridescent feathers. Talk about showing off!

The Love Bird

The male Argus pheasant performs an elaborate courtship dance that includes foot-stomping and a feather show—all on a special stage that he prepares by clearing sticks and rocks from the forest floor.

A Gift for Her

What’s your love language? For some love bugs, like one species of dance fly, it’s giving gifts. A male constructs an empty balloon made of silk bubbles and offers it to a female in a chivalrous gesture.

Flashy Flirting

For a jumping spider, it’s all about the body— literally. A jumping spider’s attention is captured by a potential mate whose body glows from reflected UV light. A dull mate is a deal-breaker.

Cricket Crooner

Male crickets use their wings to croon a romantic love song. Since the loudest singer usually gets the female, one cricket species amps up its call. Using a technique called baffling, quieter crickets chew holes in the center of leaves and stick their bodies halfway through, using the leaf as a megaphone to more than double their volume.