In the colorful world of avian courtship, the ruff (Calidris pugnax) is in a league of its own. Breeding in marshes and wet meadows across Eurasia, the males of this medium-sized sandpiper species are ...

The international journal 'Science' featured a male ruff, boasting its magnificent plumage, on this week's cover. The ruff is a classic example of a polyandrous bird species. Every year during the ...

(Phys.org) —A Simon Fraser University biologist who has spent three decades studying the ruff, a migratory shorebird, has found that its distinct approaches to courtship and mating are governed by ...

Keepers at Torquay’s coastal zoo are preparing the ground for some fierce competition. They are cutting the grass and clearing undergrowth so that one species of bird can indulge in its extraordinary ...

The ruff has one of the weirdest sexual systems in the world – all thanks to a large piece of chromosome that was flipped over 3.8 million years ago. A type of wading sandpiper, ruffs are named after ...

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Markku Nikki (Finland) highlights the impressive jumps and flamboyant plumage that are part of the male ruff’s mating display. Each spring, Markku documents the spectacle at a communal display ground ...

When it comes to birds and romance, the male ruff is pretty unique, according to new research coming out of Simon Fraser University. During mating season, females are approached by three distinct ...

The ruff is a Eurasian shorebird that has a spectacular lekking behavior where highly ornamented males compete for females. Now two groups report that males with alternative reproductive strategies ...

Click on birds to find out what they are doing! Click here (1.4 MB, MP3 format) to hear an ancient CBC radio broadcast (Quirks and Quarks) describing my earier work on the ruff Since 1984, I have ...