Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

Birds, Sex and Beauty: The extraordinary implications of Charles Darwin's strangest idea by Matt Ridley

Birds, Sex and Beauty: The extraordinary implications of Charles Darwin's strangest idea

by Matt Ridley
Sold out
₹1,296.00
₹2,005.00
₹2,005.00
₹2,005.00
(-35%)
₹1,296.00
₹1,296.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 12-14 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Paperback
  • ISBN13: 9780008645533
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publisher Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: N/A
  • Original Price: GBP 16.99
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 474 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): Animals / Birds

In his new book, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley looks to the peculiar mating rituals of birds to better understand the rich origins and ongoing significance of Darwin''s sexual selection theory.''FASCINATING'' The Times‘Matt Ridley is one of our finest science writers … A treat for bird lovers and evolutionary biologists alike’ Richard DawkinsAnimals rarely treat sex as a simple or mutually beneficial transaction. Choosing a mate is often a transcendent event to be approached with reverence, suspicion, angst and quite a bit of violence. For Matt Ridley, nowhere is this more acute than in birds.From a freezing hide on the Pennine moors at dawn, Ridley closely studies the rare Black Grouse. He is there for the lek – an elaborate courtship ritual of squabbling and strutting males. They dance and sing for hours each day to attract a mate over several months. With most males leaving exhausted and unsuccessful, Ridley looks at how females make their choice to cast fresh light on how such rituals have evolved and why.His pursuit follows five generations of biologists from Darwin and Wallace to the present day, uncovering how they have grappled with the implications of sexual selection as an eccentric, gonzo form of evolution. While most Victorian scientists found it impossible to believe female birds could select mates, Darwin was obsessed with the idea of sexual as well as natural selection.Drawing on his own lifelong passion, Ridley eavesdrops on the elaborate displays of bird species around the world, from the complex art installations made by Bowerbirds in Australia to the bubbling calls of Curlews in the UK’s declining moorlands. In a wonderful blend of nature writing and elegant exploration of recent evolutionary theory, Birds, Sex and Beauty shows not only how mate choice has shaped the natural world, including humans, but how the song and plumage of birds can be thrillingly, breathtakingly beautiful.‘Clear and entertaining … Ridley explains all this history with lucidity and wit’New Statesman‘Most of this fascinating and accessible book is about birds … Ridley, very clearly, loves birds ― and the enthusiasm is infectious’The Times‘This is a fascinating story told with wit, scholarship and the passion of a true conversationist. Lord Ridley writes in the best tradition of great British naturalists’ Country Life‘A tour de force! Simply the best account – among a great many – of Darwin’s ground-breaking and far-reaching concept of sexual selection’ Tim Birkhead, author of The Wisdom of Birds

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us

Related Category

nature > animals / birds

Bestselling

View All
Atomic Habits (Lead Title) by Clear, James

Atomic Habits (Lead Title)

Clear, James

₹585
₹899
₹899
₹899
(-35%)
₹585
₹585

• Author(s): Clear | James • Publisher: Penguin • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Random House • Subject: General Books

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper (Book 20) by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper (Book 20)

Jeff Kinney

₹455
₹699
₹699
₹699
(-35%)
₹455
₹455

• Author(s): Jeff Kinney • Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Random House Children's UK • BISAC: Comics & Graphic Novels - Humorous

Ikigai by Hector Garcia

Ikigai

Hector Garcia

₹390
₹599
₹599
₹599
(-35%)
₹390
₹390

• Author(s): Hector Garcia • Publisher: Penguin • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Random House • Subject: General Books

The Courage To Be Disliked How To Free Yourself Change Your Life And Achieve Real Happiness Courage To Series by Ichiro Kishimi

The Courage To Be Disliked How To Free Yourself Change Your Life And Achieve Real Happiness Courage To Series

Ichiro Kishimi

₹358
₹550
₹550
₹550
(-35%)
₹358
₹358

• Author(s): Ichiro Kishimi • Publisher: GROVE ATLANTIC • Publisher Imprint: Allen & Unwin • BISAC: Personal Growth - SuccessIchiro Kishimi lives in Kyoto. He writes, lectures and teaches in psychiatric clinics as a certified counsellor and c...

View full details
12 Years: My Messed-up Love Story by Chetan Bhagat

12 Years: My Messed-up Love Story

Chetan Bhagat

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Chetan Bhagat • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India • Publisher Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers India • BISAC: GeneralFrom India's top-selling writer Chetan Bhagat comes a powerful new love story that will make you laugh, cry...

View full details
The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery

The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery

Brianna Wiest

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Brianna Wiest • Publisher: Manjul Publishing • Publisher Imprint: Amaryllis • BISAC: Body Mind And SpiritThis is a book about self-sabotage. Why we do it, when we do it, and how to stop doing it—for good. Coexisting but conflicting n...

View full details
The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life by Morgan Housel

The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life

Morgan Housel

₹290
₹499
₹499
₹499
(-42%)
₹290
₹290

• Author(s): Morgan Housel • Publisher: Pan Macmillan • Publisher Imprint: Pan Macmillan • BISAC: Finance - Wealth ManagementA third book from the International bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever, lessons on harnessing...

View full details
Mother Mary Comes To Me by Arundhati Roy

Mother Mary Comes To Me

Arundhati Roy

₹585
₹899
₹899
₹899
(-35%)
₹585
₹585

• Author(s): Arundhati Roy• Publisher: PRH INDIA LOCAL PRINT• Publisher Imprint: Penguin Hamish Hamilton• BISAC: Literary FiguresArundhati Roy’s first work of memoir, this is a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became...

View full details
Truth without Apology: A Guide for Those Who Can Stand It by Acharya Prashant

Truth without Apology: A Guide for Those Who Can Stand It

Acharya Prashant

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Acharya Prashant • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India • Publisher Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers India • BISAC: GeneralIn a world where vagueness is mistaken for depth and obscurity passes for wisdom, Truth without Apology ...

View full details
Grandma's Bag of Stories by Sudha Murthy

Grandma's Bag of Stories

Sudha Murthy

₹179
₹275
₹275
₹275
(-35%)
₹179
₹179

• Author(s): Sudha Murthy • Publisher: India Puffin • Publisher Imprint: India Puffin • BISAC: Short StoriesWho can resist a good story, especially when it's being told by Grandma? From her bag emerges tales of kings and cheats, monkeys and mic...

View full details
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Satoshi Yagisawa

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Satoshi Yagisawa • Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd • Publisher Imprint: Bonnier Books Ltd

Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success In A Distracted World by Newport, Cal

Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success In A Distracted World

Newport, Cal

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Newport, Cal • Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group • Publisher Imprint: Piatkus

Can We Be Strangers Again?: A National Bestseller by Shrijeet Shandilya

Can We Be Strangers Again?: A National Bestseller

Shrijeet Shandilya

₹195
₹299
₹299
₹299
(-35%)
₹195
₹195

• Author(s): Shrijeet Shandilya • Publisher: Ebury Press • Publisher Imprint: Ebury Press • BISAC: Romance - GeneralIn the electric haze of college life, three friends are bound by laughter, late-night talks and unspoken promises. But when two of...

View full details
The Secret of Secrets: (Robert Langdon Book 6) by Dan Brown

The Secret of Secrets: (Robert Langdon Book 6)

Dan Brown

₹975
₹1,499
₹1,499
₹1,499
(-35%)
₹975
₹975

• Author(s): Dan Brown • Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd • Publisher Imprint: Transworld Publishers Ltd • BISAC: Thrillers - EspionageDan Brown is the bestselling author of Digital Fortress, Deception Point, Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci C...

View full details
Magic of the Lost Temple by Sudha Murty

Magic of the Lost Temple

Sudha Murty

₹179
₹275
₹275
₹275
(-35%)
₹179
₹179

• Author(s): Sudha Murty • Publisher: India Puffin • Publisher Imprint: India Puffin • BISAC: Action & Adventure - General

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

₹390
₹599
₹599
₹599
(-35%)
₹390
₹390

• Publisher: Penguin • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Random House • Subject: General Books • BISAC: Personal Finance - GeneralApril of 2022 marks a 25-year milestone for the personal finance classic Rich Dad Poor Dad that still ranks as the #1 Pers...

View full details
World’S Greatest Books For Personal Growth & Wealth (Set Of 4 Books) : Perfect Motivational by Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill

World’S Greatest Books For Personal Growth & Wealth (Set Of 4 Books) : Perfect Motivational

Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill

₹390
₹599
₹599
₹599
(-35%)
₹390
₹390

• Author(s): Dale Carnegie | Napoleon Hill • Publisher: Fingerprint • Publisher Imprint: Fingerprint • Subject: General Books

The Housemaid: An Addictive Psychological Thriller With Mind-Bending Twists by Freida Mcfadden

The Housemaid: An Addictive Psychological Thriller With Mind-Bending Twists

Freida Mcfadden

₹358
₹550
₹550
₹550
(-35%)
₹358
₹358

• Author(s): Freida Mcfadden • Publisher: Penguin Select Print • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Select Publishing"Multi-Million Copy Bestselling Series •Now Being Made Into a Major Motion Picture Starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried #1 New Yor...

View full details
101 Tales: The Great Panchatantra Collection by Wonder House Books

101 Tales: The Great Panchatantra Collection

Wonder House Books

₹390
₹599
₹599
₹599
(-35%)
₹390
₹390

• Author(s): Wonder House Books • Publisher: Wonder House Books • Publisher Imprint: Wonder House Books • BISAC: Comics & Graphic Novels - Fairy Tales, Folklore, Legends & MTimeless Wisdom, Talking Animals & Life Lessons for Young Min...

View full details
Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Man's Search For Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Viktor E. Frankl • Publisher: Random House • Publisher Imprint: Random Hou • Subject: Medical, Nursing and Health Sciences

Bacchon KI Doctor's Desi Parenting Book: A Doctor-Mom's Guide to Milk, Myths, Motherhood and More by Madhavi Bharadwaj

Bacchon KI Doctor's Desi Parenting Book: A Doctor-Mom's Guide to Milk, Myths, Motherhood and More

Madhavi Bharadwaj

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Madhavi Bharadwaj • Publisher: PRH India • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Ebury Press • BISAC: Parenting - MotherhoodWelcome to the wild, messy, wonderful world of parenting--where the nights are long, the diapers are explosive, and unso...

View full details
The Outsider by Vir Das

The Outsider

Vir Das

₹455
₹699
₹699
₹699
(-35%)
₹455
₹455

• Author(s): Vir Das • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India • Publisher Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers India • BISAC: Entertainment & Performing ArtsComedian and actor Vir Das is beloved (by some, tolerated by others, blocked by a few...

View full details
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle

₹293
₹450
₹450
₹450
(-35%)
₹293
₹293

• Author(s): Eric Carle • Publisher: Penguin Books, Limited (UK) • Publisher Imprint: Penguin Books, Limited (UK) • BISAC: Animals - Butterflies, Moths & CaterpillarsEric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a perennial favourite with child...

View full details
Too Good to Be True : A smart, funny will-they-won’t-they romance by mostlysane by Prajakta Koli

Too Good to Be True : A smart, funny will-they-won’t-they romance by mostlysane

Prajakta Koli

₹260
₹399
₹399
₹399
(-35%)
₹260
₹260

• Author(s): Prajakta Koli • Publisher: Harper Fiction India • Publisher Imprint: Harper Fiction India • BISAC: Romance - ContemporaryWinner of the Amazon India Popular Choice Debut Book 2025 Award. From one of India's most-loved creators comes s...

View full details
Home
Genres
Account
Chat