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Birds, Sex and Beauty: The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea – Evolutionary Theory, Sexual Selection, and the Mystery of Attraction
“Matt Ridley is one of our finest science writers. This book is a treat for bird lovers and evolutionary biologists alike.” —Richard Dawkins, author of The Genetic Book of The Dead and The God Delusion
The New York Times bestselling author of Genome and The Evolution of Everything revisits Darwin’s revelatory theory of mate choice through the close study of the peculiar rituals of birds, and considers how this mating process complicates our own view of human evolution.
In all animals, mating is a deal. But few creatures behave as if sex is a simple, even mutually beneficial, transaction. Many more treat it with reverence, suspicion, angst, and violence. In the case of the Black Grouse, the bird at the center of Matt Ridley’s investigation, the males dance and sing for hours a day, for several exhausting months, in an arduous and even deadly ritual called a “lek.” To prepare for the ordeal, they grow, preen and display fancy, twisted, bold-colored feathers. When achieved, consummation with a female takes seconds. So why the months of practice and preparation that is elaborate, extravagant, exhausting and elegant?
The full answer remains a mystery. Evolutionary biologists can explain why males are generally the eager sellers, females the discriminating buyers. But they struggle to explain why, in some species, this extravagance goes beyond the mere gaudy, taking on bizarre shapes, postures, and behavior. And further, why these bird displays seem beautiful to us humans, a species with seemingly no skin in the game.
Using an early morning “lek" as his starting point, Ridley explores the scientific research into the evolution of bright colors, exotic ornaments, and elaborate displays in birds around the world. Charles Darwin thought the purpose of such displays was to "charm" females. Though Darwin’s theory was initially dismissed and buried for decades, recent scientific research has proven him newly right—there is a powerful evolutionary force quite distinct from natural selection: mate choice. In Birds, Sex and Beauty, Ridley reopens the history of Darwin’s vexed theory, laying bare a century of disagreement about an idea so powerful, so weird, and so wonderful, we may have yet to fully understand its implications.
The New York Times bestselling author of Genome and The Evolution of Everything revisits Darwin’s revelatory theory of mate choice through the close study of the peculiar rituals of birds, and considers how this mating process complicates our own view of human evolution.
In all animals, mating is a deal. But few creatures behave as if sex is a simple, even mutually beneficial, transaction. Many more treat it with reverence, suspicion, angst, and violence. In the case of the Black Grouse, the bird at the center of Matt Ridley’s investigation, the males dance and sing for hours a day, for several exhausting months, in an arduous and even deadly ritual called a “lek.” To prepare for the ordeal, they grow, preen and display fancy, twisted, bold-colored feathers. When achieved, consummation with a female takes seconds. So why the months of practice and preparation that is elaborate, extravagant, exhausting and elegant?
The full answer remains a mystery. Evolutionary biologists can explain why males are generally the eager sellers, females the discriminating buyers. But they struggle to explain why, in some species, this extravagance goes beyond the mere gaudy, taking on bizarre shapes, postures, and behavior. And further, why these bird displays seem beautiful to us humans, a species with seemingly no skin in the game.
Using an early morning “lek" as his starting point, Ridley explores the scientific research into the evolution of bright colors, exotic ornaments, and elaborate displays in birds around the world. Charles Darwin thought the purpose of such displays was to "charm" females. Though Darwin’s theory was initially dismissed and buried for decades, recent scientific research has proven him newly right—there is a powerful evolutionary force quite distinct from natural selection: mate choice. In Birds, Sex and Beauty, Ridley reopens the history of Darwin’s vexed theory, laying bare a century of disagreement about an idea so powerful, so weird, and so wonderful, we may have yet to fully understand its implications.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2025
59 people are currently reading
3337 people want to read
About the author
Matt Ridley
26 books2,217 followersMatthew White Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley, is a British science writer, journalist and businessman. He is known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics, and has been a regular contributor to The Times newspaper. Ridley was chairman of the UK bank Northern Rock from 2004 to 2007, during which period it experienced the first run on a British bank in 130 years. He resigned, and the bank was bailed out by the UK government; this led to its nationalisation.
Ridley is a libertarian, and a staunch supporter of Brexit. He inherited the viscountcy in February 2012 and was a Conservative hereditary peer from February 2013, with an elected seat in the House of Lords, until his retirement in December 2021.
Ridley is a libertarian, and a staunch supporter of Brexit. He inherited the viscountcy in February 2012 and was a Conservative hereditary peer from February 2013, with an elected seat in the House of Lords, until his retirement in December 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 19, 2025
Survival of the sexiest.
I guess I didn't want to have kids anyway.
Amazing how overlooked sexual selection and female choice was when it seems to explain so much of what we can observe.
The main reason for this being that we as humans can't deal with the conclusion that the theory provides: Being beautiful for the sake of being beautiful.
That's something that we will continue to struggle with but I'm sure evolution will keep on keeping on nevertheless.
An informative as well as interesting history of the 'competing' theories of natural/sexual selection and their champions. Including great details and observations of the bird behaviour that we all find so captivating.
Long live the Black Grouse.
I guess I didn't want to have kids anyway.
Amazing how overlooked sexual selection and female choice was when it seems to explain so much of what we can observe.
The main reason for this being that we as humans can't deal with the conclusion that the theory provides: Being beautiful for the sake of being beautiful.
That's something that we will continue to struggle with but I'm sure evolution will keep on keeping on nevertheless.
An informative as well as interesting history of the 'competing' theories of natural/sexual selection and their champions. Including great details and observations of the bird behaviour that we all find so captivating.
Long live the Black Grouse.
September 4, 2025
Listen, I know I signed up to read and review this one and I did, but… it was boring as shit. I know, I know, it’s a book about birds and sex, how entertaining could it be? Let me tell you: it could be so much more entertaining than it was. Only read this book if you REALLY like birds. Specifically, black grouses and their leks. Really, truly, horrendously boring. You heard it here first 🤷🏻♀️
August 18, 2025
This is the kind of nonfiction book I like to read before bedtime: Interesting enough to make you think, but not suspenseful or emotional. I read a few pages, my brain is distracted, and I fall asleep. Also, it seems to imply women's sexual selection may be the driver behind the stupid things men do. So maybe it's not our fault?
September 1, 2025
“Birds, Sex & Beauty” explora a teoria darwiniana da seleção sexual aplicada às aves. Ridley reúne observações curiosas e exemplos que iluminam a biologia reprodutiva e estética desses animais, mas a escrita tende ao seco: clara, porém sem muito brilho. A leitura se alonga em repetições, e o ritmo acaba oscilando entre o informativo e o monótono. É um bom livro para quem busca registro detalhado e consistente, mas não necessariamente para quem procura uma leitura agradável.
December 2, 2025
I enjoyed this one. It sort of felt like a love letter to birds and their weird and extravagant ways of trying to get laid.
April 1, 2025
This is a book about sex and leks.
Many birds and insects arrange sex through lek mating. A lek is a relatively small area, the size, for example, of a tennis court, where once a year a group of males each claim a small territory, several feet square. They defend that territory from other males. When a female appears, the males start frantically performing. They ruffle feathers, dance, squawk, sing, hop etc. Each species has its unique performing style. The female spends some time watching and then offers herself to a male for breeding. It is a dating bar from hell.
A surprising number of species mate this way. Usually a very few "alpha" birds do most of the mating. Males only last a year or two at the top and then get passed by for younger males. Importantly, the species who lek are usually species where the males are elaborately decorated with bright colored plumage. They perform impressive ruffles and feather tricks along with songs.
Matt Ridley asks what evolutionary purpose this odd system serves. There are many theories.
Darwin said that female birds appreciated beauty and wanted to breed with beautiful males. Many scientists rejected that idea because they did not believe that birds, particularly female birds, had an aesthetic sense.
Another popular theory was that the elaborate feathers and dance where a sign to the female of a fit male bird that would produce strong chicks. The problem was that the elaborate decorations did not help survival. They frequently made it harder for birds to hide and to flee. The peacock's tale makes if vulnerable.
A circular theory was that females selected birds with elaborate performances because that would make it more likely that their chicks would have elaborate performances which would make it more likely that the female would have more grandchildren. As Ridley explains, "Taste for beauty causes beauty which causes taste for beauty."
Ridley least favorite theory is that the males are battling each other for the female and the winner claims the female. He, and many other scientists, have spent hundreds of hours watching leks and that is not what happens. This is clearly a courtship of the female by the male.
Ridley is much more interesting than this summary suggests. He describes the field work all over the world. He explains his gradual changes of mind. He gives us the personalities and politics behind the theories. He drops in a bunch of interesting stuff.
Tivers rule, "Whichever sex devotes most time and energy raising the young is small, dull and choosy, which ever sex devotes least time and energy is large, colorful and sexually foreword." It proves true across most species, with a few exceptions.
It is possible to tell the color of feathers that were attached to a fossilized bone by examining the fossilized melanosomes.
Each male ruff has a different pattern of plumage, ruffles and colors. It is the only bird with no consistent appearance.
At times Ridley gets a bit bogged down in the details of experiments and theories.
This is a well written personal explanation of a complicated question.
Many birds and insects arrange sex through lek mating. A lek is a relatively small area, the size, for example, of a tennis court, where once a year a group of males each claim a small territory, several feet square. They defend that territory from other males. When a female appears, the males start frantically performing. They ruffle feathers, dance, squawk, sing, hop etc. Each species has its unique performing style. The female spends some time watching and then offers herself to a male for breeding. It is a dating bar from hell.
A surprising number of species mate this way. Usually a very few "alpha" birds do most of the mating. Males only last a year or two at the top and then get passed by for younger males. Importantly, the species who lek are usually species where the males are elaborately decorated with bright colored plumage. They perform impressive ruffles and feather tricks along with songs.
Matt Ridley asks what evolutionary purpose this odd system serves. There are many theories.
Darwin said that female birds appreciated beauty and wanted to breed with beautiful males. Many scientists rejected that idea because they did not believe that birds, particularly female birds, had an aesthetic sense.
Another popular theory was that the elaborate feathers and dance where a sign to the female of a fit male bird that would produce strong chicks. The problem was that the elaborate decorations did not help survival. They frequently made it harder for birds to hide and to flee. The peacock's tale makes if vulnerable.
A circular theory was that females selected birds with elaborate performances because that would make it more likely that their chicks would have elaborate performances which would make it more likely that the female would have more grandchildren. As Ridley explains, "Taste for beauty causes beauty which causes taste for beauty."
Ridley least favorite theory is that the males are battling each other for the female and the winner claims the female. He, and many other scientists, have spent hundreds of hours watching leks and that is not what happens. This is clearly a courtship of the female by the male.
Ridley is much more interesting than this summary suggests. He describes the field work all over the world. He explains his gradual changes of mind. He gives us the personalities and politics behind the theories. He drops in a bunch of interesting stuff.
Tivers rule, "Whichever sex devotes most time and energy raising the young is small, dull and choosy, which ever sex devotes least time and energy is large, colorful and sexually foreword." It proves true across most species, with a few exceptions.
It is possible to tell the color of feathers that were attached to a fossilized bone by examining the fossilized melanosomes.
Each male ruff has a different pattern of plumage, ruffles and colors. It is the only bird with no consistent appearance.
At times Ridley gets a bit bogged down in the details of experiments and theories.
This is a well written personal explanation of a complicated question.
January 16, 2026
I am fairly new to bird watching, and I found biology pretty dull when I was growing up. So I was pretty sure I was going to abandon this book if I were to ever pick it up. Anyway, I had some time on me, and I decided to give this book a shot.
I must admit, being an absolute starter in this topic, the first 50 pages were hard. The author frequently invoked Darwin and Wallace's theories, people I had only heard about but never read. So all the while, I had my phone or laptop with me and I looked for jargons, theories and birds that I wasn't familiar with.
After those initial pages, I got a grasp of the author's narrative flow. Every reading session, post that, was a major TIL for me. I looked up every bird that the author describes in the book on youtube, and that helped me live the book. I literally bird watched on youtube while reading and the experience was so wholesome. I have a repo of all the interesting bird species that the author alludes to in the book.
The narrative style is quite engrossing. The author through the lens of the Black Grouse's Lek explains why Darwin's theory on evolution through sexual selection has merit. Lekking is an instinctive sexual behaviour shown by some birds (and animals) where a group of males gather in a grid to perform and call out to the females for breeding. The behaviour of the Black Grouses at the Lek is analysed through the history of evolution theories given by biologists over the years. For example, questions such as, Why do only 1 or 2 male Black Grouses get the most mating done in a lekking season, answer to which lies in Ronald Fisher's 'sexy-son' hypothesis. A phenomenon that highlights significant rle of female choice which led to elaborate ornaments in male birds in a lot of species.
This book has been one of the best reads for me. It reads like a story, and at the end of it you're loaded with so many peculiar facts and theories about birds that you can't stop talking about it.
I must admit, being an absolute starter in this topic, the first 50 pages were hard. The author frequently invoked Darwin and Wallace's theories, people I had only heard about but never read. So all the while, I had my phone or laptop with me and I looked for jargons, theories and birds that I wasn't familiar with.
After those initial pages, I got a grasp of the author's narrative flow. Every reading session, post that, was a major TIL for me. I looked up every bird that the author describes in the book on youtube, and that helped me live the book. I literally bird watched on youtube while reading and the experience was so wholesome. I have a repo of all the interesting bird species that the author alludes to in the book.
The narrative style is quite engrossing. The author through the lens of the Black Grouse's Lek explains why Darwin's theory on evolution through sexual selection has merit. Lekking is an instinctive sexual behaviour shown by some birds (and animals) where a group of males gather in a grid to perform and call out to the females for breeding. The behaviour of the Black Grouses at the Lek is analysed through the history of evolution theories given by biologists over the years. For example, questions such as, Why do only 1 or 2 male Black Grouses get the most mating done in a lekking season, answer to which lies in Ronald Fisher's 'sexy-son' hypothesis. A phenomenon that highlights significant rle of female choice which led to elaborate ornaments in male birds in a lot of species.
This book has been one of the best reads for me. It reads like a story, and at the end of it you're loaded with so many peculiar facts and theories about birds that you can't stop talking about it.
May 23, 2025
This book explores the extravagant mating rituals of the Black Grouse and other birds, examining the evolutionary forces—particularly mate choice—behind their elaborate displays and questioning why these displays appeal to humans. It revisits Darwin’s theory of sexual selection, highlighting its significance and ongoing relevance.
I loved this book. The theory of sexual selection has always fascinated me, and this book explores how sexual selection has led to the evolution of beauty. The book sifts through several different hypotheses about how beauty and fitness intersect, weighing their strengths and weaknesses.
(One idea the book doesn’t discuss—that I noticed—is that mothers might pass on their mate preferences to their daughters, and the daughters with more fit fathers are more likely to survive and repeat their mothers’ preferences in the mates they choose. In that way, the mate preferences survive and increase over time, so the males with the same preferred traits are more and more likely to be chosen in succeeding generations. Female choice plus male fitness would drive evolution, even if the females had no concept that the male was more fit—only that he was more beautiful.)
The book also traces the author’s observations of the black grouse (the bird on the cover) and their mating behaviors. The birds are gorgeous and fascinating and I’m a little bit obsessed with them now.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
I loved this book. The theory of sexual selection has always fascinated me, and this book explores how sexual selection has led to the evolution of beauty. The book sifts through several different hypotheses about how beauty and fitness intersect, weighing their strengths and weaknesses.
(One idea the book doesn’t discuss—that I noticed—is that mothers might pass on their mate preferences to their daughters, and the daughters with more fit fathers are more likely to survive and repeat their mothers’ preferences in the mates they choose. In that way, the mate preferences survive and increase over time, so the males with the same preferred traits are more and more likely to be chosen in succeeding generations. Female choice plus male fitness would drive evolution, even if the females had no concept that the male was more fit—only that he was more beautiful.)
The book also traces the author’s observations of the black grouse (the bird on the cover) and their mating behaviors. The birds are gorgeous and fascinating and I’m a little bit obsessed with them now.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
October 4, 2025
citEști „Birds, Sex & Beauty” Matt Ridley: Frumusețea duce la tine
„Scoicile au fost frumoase mult înainte să existe oameni care să le vadă; florile sunt frumoase pentru albine; fructele, pentru păsări. Așa că n-are sens să susținem orbește că frumusețea e doar pentru noi” p.41 „Birds, Sex & Beauty- The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea” Matt Ridley, 4-th Estate, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEcH0...
E frumos ce-ți place ție, dar să vezi ce-ți face. În primul rând îți spune altfel de povești. Volumul „Birds, Sex & Beauty- The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea” este cel mai bun exemplu. Pe Matt Ridley îl știi drept ”optimistul rațional”. Acum îți dă ocazia să vezi cum se întâlnește istoria științei cu fascinația estetică pornind de la propria sa pasiune pentru comportamentul păsărilor.
„Par să anuleze granița dintre artă și știință, ca și pe cea dintre oameni și păsări” p.272 „Birds, Sex & Beauty- The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea” Matt Ridley, 4-th Estate, 2025
„Scoicile au fost frumoase mult înainte să existe oameni care să le vadă; florile sunt frumoase pentru albine; fructele, pentru păsări. Așa că n-are sens să susținem orbește că frumusețea e doar pentru noi” p.41 „Birds, Sex & Beauty- The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea” Matt Ridley, 4-th Estate, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEcH0...
E frumos ce-ți place ție, dar să vezi ce-ți face. În primul rând îți spune altfel de povești. Volumul „Birds, Sex & Beauty- The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea” este cel mai bun exemplu. Pe Matt Ridley îl știi drept ”optimistul rațional”. Acum îți dă ocazia să vezi cum se întâlnește istoria științei cu fascinația estetică pornind de la propria sa pasiune pentru comportamentul păsărilor.
„Par să anuleze granița dintre artă și știință, ca și pe cea dintre oameni și păsări” p.272 „Birds, Sex & Beauty- The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea” Matt Ridley, 4-th Estate, 2025
April 17, 2025
Mr. Ridley has given us many fine books across a universe of topics. This time he writes close to his heart, as he has watched and studied birds for most of his life.
When Charles Darwin dropped his work and ideas upon the world a war broke out between those who recognised the genius and those who thought his work the ravings of a madman, or worse. After some serious back and forth the issues devolved into quibbling. Today we have a broader and deeper theory of heredity, one willing to ask questions about altrusim and beauty. When one speaks of avian beauty the picture that comes to mind: Peacock.
We spend a lot of time with the Peacock as well as Black Grous, Mnakins and several others. The question in general is "Who decides mating and do they decide using beauty?" We see why the female seems to be the decider although that conclusion has been resisted by the mostly male biological community.
Ridley brings a lot of weight down on the female's side.
Recommended.
When Charles Darwin dropped his work and ideas upon the world a war broke out between those who recognised the genius and those who thought his work the ravings of a madman, or worse. After some serious back and forth the issues devolved into quibbling. Today we have a broader and deeper theory of heredity, one willing to ask questions about altrusim and beauty. When one speaks of avian beauty the picture that comes to mind: Peacock.
We spend a lot of time with the Peacock as well as Black Grous, Mnakins and several others. The question in general is "Who decides mating and do they decide using beauty?" We see why the female seems to be the decider although that conclusion has been resisted by the mostly male biological community.
Ridley brings a lot of weight down on the female's side.
Recommended.
April 9, 2025
A handful of authors occupy my "auto-read" book acquisition algorithm. Winchester for narrative history, Kaplan for insight into the long view of culture and conflict. Smil for a data-driven perspective on the world's (dis)function. Ridley is my science muse. His latest book, Birds, Sex and Beauty, traverses Darwin's theory of mate choice, exploring the elaborate and often mysterious rituals of birds during mating. Ridley uses the Black Grouse's intricate "lek" displays as a focal point to examine the evolution of bright colors, exotic ornaments, and elaborate behaviors in birds. He revisits Darwin's idea that these displays serve to "charm" females, a concept initially dismissed but now supported by recent scientific research. Ridley also reflects on how these extravagant displays resonate with human perceptions of beauty, offering a fascinating intersection of biology and aesthetics.
November 11, 2025
I listened to Matt Ridley's wonderfully self-voiced audiobook being interested in the poorly understood (relative to natural selection) origin of sexual selection. What I got was a love letter to birds, and the exploration of sexual selection's origins was secondary by volume of text. Lovely, still.
I don't want to mix up my disappointment in the randomness of sexual selection with my view of the book. The book is great. I was just hoping to be more elucidated what the true answers are regarding the truth of the sexy son vs healthy daughter hypotheses, for instance.
On some questions, you have to suspend your eagerness to get served all the answers all at once.
I don't want to mix up my disappointment in the randomness of sexual selection with my view of the book. The book is great. I was just hoping to be more elucidated what the true answers are regarding the truth of the sexy son vs healthy daughter hypotheses, for instance.
On some questions, you have to suspend your eagerness to get served all the answers all at once.
June 8, 2025
Recommended. Even if you know nothing about birds (and I didn’t), you’ll be drawn in by the author’s brilliant narration, which brings every scene vividly to life. The book offers fascinating and often provocative theories about sexual selection: how beauty evolves, what it signals, and how birds challenge our human assumptions about sex and aesthetics. What makes it truly special is the way the author blends science with personal insight. It's not just a book about birds; it’s a book about desire, expression, and the wild strangeness of life.
February 12, 2026
Audiobook.
Enjoyed this listen and am cheering for the survival of the black grouse! Very understandable and pleasurable for an amateur birder, occasionally tripped up by the competing theories but that is likely on me and not the author.
Looking at birds a little differently....
Enjoyed this listen and am cheering for the survival of the black grouse! Very understandable and pleasurable for an amateur birder, occasionally tripped up by the competing theories but that is likely on me and not the author.
Looking at birds a little differently....
April 2, 2025
The joy of a very good scientist who is also a very good naturalist is that they tend to write a very good book. Like this one.
April 15, 2025
Enjoyed the narration also, I'll read more from Matt Ridley
May 30, 2025
good information though dry in delivery. my main takeaway from this book is sexism has been holding science back for wayy too long
July 26, 2025
Very detailed analysis of sexual selection with a focus on birds.
January 18, 2026
I know a lot of bird facts now
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews