The elaborate ornamentation of the tufted puffin, sexual selection at its best. Natural selection does a great job at explaining the evolution of morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits of a species, but falls short in providing a rationale for say, the extreme head gear of a tufted puffin. Shorter wings are good for swimming, a darker plumage helps reduce detection from prey, but what advantage do golden rock-star head plumes provide? The answer lies in sexual selection, which focuses only on reproductive success. The development of "attractive" ornamentation provides a gained mating advantage over other birds, it's the mechanism for attracting a mate. Allow sexual selection to run its course for millions of years, and fashions begin to spin out of control in order to maintain the advantage. We've seen this happen before, in the 80's.
Canon EOS 60D, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + 1.4x, ISO-400 f/5.6 @ 1/800 sec.
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