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A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), vocalizations, mechanical sound production, or displays of beauty, strength, or agonistic ability.
As an example, elephants have lasting social bonds, and courtship often involves gentle touches and caresses between individuals. ... The world of animal courtship behaviors is a testament to the ...
Courtship behavior of non-heterosexual individuals does not always reflect their self-ascribed sexual orientation. Some of them recognized from early age that they are attracted to the same sex or both / all sexes , but may initially adhere to heterosexual norms in their courtship behaviors.
The main benefit for both sexes is mating success. For males, the costs stem from females' preferences. The traits that are selected for may be energetically costly to maintain and may cause increased predation. For example, increased vocalization rate caused a decrease in the mass of male great snipes. [43] Other costs can derive from male combat.
Communication is important for animals throughout the animal kingdom. For example, since female praying mantids are sexually cannibalistic, the male typically uses a cryptic form of display. [2] This is a series of creeping movements executed by the male as it approaches the female, with freezing whenever the female looks towards the male.
One example of fixed action patterns is the courtship and aggression behaviours of the male stickleback, particularly the three-spined stickleback, during mating season, described in a series of studies by Niko Tinbergen. [4] [12] During the spring mating season, male sticklebacks' ventrum turns red and they establish a territory to build a ...
Mating dances, the songs of males to attract females or the mutual grooming of pairs, are all examples of typical courtship behavior that allows both recognition and reproductive isolation. This is because each of the stages of courtship depend on the behavior of the partner.
For these animals, there is documented evidence of homosexual behavior of one or more of the following kinds: sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding, or parenting, as noted in researcher and author Bruce Bagemihl's 1999 book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity.