Display Flight

Display flights are extraordinarily diverse: male snipe produce 'drumming' by diving with stiffened outer tail feathers vibrating in the airstream; Common Swifts pursue each other in screaming parties; woodcocks perform slow roding circuits at dusk emitting distinctive calls. In some species, both sexes perform synchronized aerobatic displays. The energetic cost of display flights provides honest information about individual fitness, enabling mate-choice based on demonstrated quality.