During their elaborate courtship displays, peacocks shake their iridescent tail feathers in an energetically efficient manner.
To study the dynamics of the peacock's tail-feather vibrations, Roslyn Dakin at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, Suzanne Amador Kane at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and their co-workers recorded high-speed video of 14 male birds (Pavo cristatus; pictured). They found that peacocks rub their tail feathers together at an average frequency of 25.6 hertz, generating a distinct sound and a shimmering effect. In laboratory experiments, the team showed that the feathers resonate when vibrating at this frequency: this maximizes their vibrational amplitude and the shimmering effect.
Scanning electron microscopy also revealed that barbs on the eyespots lock together with microhooks, allowing the eyespots to hold steady.
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Peacocks maximize tail shimmer. Nature 533, 10 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/533010a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/533010a
