In a Californian park, peacocks are trying to woo potential mates. Strutting, showing off their 200 multi-coloured tail feathers and vibrating their colourful eyespots, the peacocks are doing all they can to attract a peahen. Sam the peacock, however, is having no luck with the ladies.
When a peacock has successfully wooed a peahen, he makes a particular sound. In this BBC Earth footage, we hear one of Sam’s competitors make this mating call – and it draws in more peahens wanting a slice of the action.
We then see Sam adopt these victorious mating hoots — even though he hasn’t attracted a mate. His deceitful tactics pay off, as the lure of his hoot draws in a female.
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Top image credit: Getty Images