Why does natural selection favor peacocks with big tails?

Darwin’s theory of sexual selection says that nature’s extravagances — like the peacock’s tail — are advantages in the mating game. This makes sense in evolutionary terms — the largest tail would indicate a healthy bird and a better chance for healthy offspring.

Why do male peacocks have long beautiful tails which make it more difficult to escape from predators?

Darwin’s theory states that “the peacock tail has gradually evolved because the peahen selects beautiful males for mating” (Burgess 1). In some unfortunate cases, however, the males’ train of feathers may “become too heavy to carry around” (Tale of the Peacock), leaving them vulnerable to predators.

Why isn’t the peacock’s tail selected against by natural selection?

Showy male ornaments like the peacock’s tail appeared hard to explain by natural selection because they seemed more of a handicap than an aid to survival. Darwin also had the intellectual toughness to stick with the deeply discomfiting consequences of his theory, that natural selection has no goal or purpose.

How does a peacocks tail reduce survival?

The peacock’s tail almost certainly reduces the male’s survival: the tail reduces maneuverability, powers of flight, and makes the bird more conspicuous; its growth must also impose an energetic cost. …

How the peacock’s tail has evolved?

To help answer these questions, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied fruit fly derrieres and found that ancient genetic switches have evolved to manipulate the appearance of animals in a way that favored their selection as mates, providing a possible explanation for how peacocks evolved their …

How are peacocks affected by natural selection?

Peahens prefer peacocks with large and colourful tails, so those peacocks get to mate more frequently and have more offspring. The male peachicks will inherit the genes for a long and colourful tail from their father and so will have a similar tail.

What is the purpose of the peacock’s tail?

Peacocks might use their showy tails for covert communication. Can you see me? Peacock tails are brightly coloured and highly conspicuous – but maybe not to their predators. The animals that hunt peacocks have poor colour vision and, to their eyes, the birds’ tails may actually help them blend into the background.

How did male peacocks evolve long Colourful tails?

How were peacocks affected by natural selection?

The concept of natural selection is often associated with some kind of struggle to survive. The classic example of mate choice is a peacock’s tail. Peahens prefer peacocks with large and colourful tails, so those peacocks get to mate more frequently and have more offspring.

Why might a peacock with its long beautiful tail initially have troubled Darwin?

In fact, it should be a hindrance if a predator came by.” The plumage bothered Darwin so much, partly because birds lay at the heart of his thinking. Recent research, however, suggests that the tail’s huge size and prominent “eyespots” may also in fact intimidate predators, providing a survival advantage as well.”

What is the purpose of a peacocks tail?

What types of behaviors does a peacock tail indicate to a female?

When peacocks are ready to mate, they fan out their iridescent tail feathers (known as trains), before rushing at females, shaking those feathers to catch their attention.