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Biologists once thought that herons and geese created their puzzling ritual dances for fertility or survival reasons, that they were, in the word we use about ourselves, practical. But biologists in recent years, after extensive observations of herons, deer, geese, peacocks, and so on, have concluded that some ritual dances have no particular value for survival-they amount to display. Display embodies beauty and expressivenesses often united with a zany grace. Human beings tend to display at the front end; we emphasize the beauty in the face, and the face becomes emotionally expressive. Deer, however, display at both ends: white-tailed deer show beauty in the facial area and in the anal area with their gorgeous tails. Heron dances, peacock strutting, stag processions can all be considered as artistic or superfluous displays.
Longing is expressed, beauty, high spirits. The energies that are caught there, held in a formal moment, activate something in other birds or animals watching. So the displays are activating dances. The events are meant to be seen.
