Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Well, if ...

Why do peacocks grow such an elaborate tail to attract a mate? After all, their unwieldy plumage makes them much more liable to being eaten by a predator or killed by a more agile rival. Charles ...

Sharks with frickin' lasers are tired news. Peacocks, apparently, are where it's truly at. Famous for their dazzling iridescence, peacock feathers are known to contain nanostructures that scatter ...