This is a young male riflebird (maybe 5 or 6 years old, almost ready for his full colours to come in) performing along a horizontal branch of a rainforest tree near my house. At least 2 females were watching the show, but I didn’t see any consummation so it is unclear whether he got an Oscar. With each rasping gasp he bobs like a wind-up mechanical toy from side to side along the branch, all the while flicking alternating stiff, fan-like wings and throwing back his head to lay along the extended wing. It’s a mesmerising but also pretty comical show to watch. I can’t help but smile each time. He’s just so damned earnest.