What is Display (zoology)?
[[File:Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) RWD1.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The 'Killdeer': mating display normally hidden under [[camouflage]]d feathers.]] [[File:Silz cerf21.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Red Deer]] shed and replace their antlers every year]] [[File:GreatCrestedGrebes.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Great Crested Grebe]]s have a beautiful courtship display.]] '''Display''' is a form of [[animal behaviour]], linked to survival of the species in various ways. One function of display is in [[wikt:courtship|courtship]]. In most [[species]] the [[male]] has a striking feature that is distinguished by colour, shape or size, used to attract a female. In many species the male has another, more [[Camouflage|cryptic]], form out of the mating season. A related function is [[wikt:armament|armament]] (horns, teeth) exhibited and used by 'tournament' species. In these species, males fight to gain the 'right' to breed. The display part of the process is a mechanism for younger males to avoid being damaged by prime males. Instinctive behaviour prompts lesser males to leave the field. [[Peafowl]], [[deer]], [[antelope]] and [[elephant seal]]s are good examples. The other main function is in species which have territorial display behaviour. This may preserve a foraging or hunting territory for its family or group. {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Zoology]] [[Category:Ethology]]