Sir David Attenborough: Beauty In Nature
Attenborough’s much anticipated visit to Leicester was somewhat of a homecoming for the treasured naturalist, himself and his family holding strong connections with the town and university. After his father was appointed Principal of what was then University College Leicester, the Attenborough family moved onto the campus where Sir David grew up. He has returned to the city on several occasions in recent years, including to receive an Honorary Degree in 1970 and the title of Honorary Distinguished Fellow in 2006, both alongside his brother Richard. Now he graces Leicester with his presence once more, this time for the grand opening of a fully-inclusive, £1.5 million gallery extension at the Attenborough Arts Centre, in honour of his late brother. Prior to the grand opening, Attenborough took to the stage of the university’s De Montfort Hall, offering a sea of exuberant students, staff and members of the general public the chance to enjoy a captivating and inspiring lecture as part of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
Taking inspiration from his main reason for visiting Sir David, after being warmly welcomed onto the stage by Lord Grocott as ‘the speaker who needs no introduction’, introduced the subject of today’s talk. He explained that since he was soon to be launching the new facility devoted entirely to the arts, he thought it appropriate to consider how the arts, whose main concern is beauty, may affect the natural world. He highlighted the widely held conception, soon to be proved misconception, that the acknowledgement and appreciation of beauty is a prerogative purely of humankind. This is, perhaps, a characteristic which many would say could be used to assess whether or not a being is human, however the iconic broadcaster was eager to challenge this view. We may appreciate immense beauty throughout all aspects of our natural environment, but do other species value it also?
Attenborough stressed the importance of investigating the history and processes of evolution in order to consider this question by providing the already attentive audience with an incredibly extensive overview of the work of famed life scientists Charles Darwin and the lesser known Alfred Russel Wallace. Beginning with Wallace, we were transported to the 1884, to a time where he, after moving to Leicester to begin a teaching career, began the study of beetles that could be found within the area’s countryside. The sheer number of different beetle species which himself and project partner and friend, Henry Walter Bates, managed to collect generated much inquisition, and they were compelled to explore the reasons behind this incredible discovery.
The pair embarked on an epic voyage to the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, where Wallace remained for four years. Carrying out a vast range of scientific observations and collecting a huge array of specimens, he finally departed in 1852, only to experience calamity on his return journey across the Atlantic after his ship caught fire and the entirety of his work was lost. Undeterred, Wallace set out again two years later, this time heading to an Indonesian archipelago with the intention of being the first person to ever witness the fabled exquisite, elaborate dances of its native birds of paradise.
Wallace understood that sexually dimorphic pigmentation is a feature present in many bird species which allows individuals to identify a member of the opposite sex. Nevertheless, he believed that the amount of what Sir David described as “beautiful feather decoration” was much more than was necessary for this sole purpose, prompting him to draw a conclusion. These species simply had the right constitution to develop such brightly coloured and fanciful plumes as part of their nature, in the same way that blood happens to be red, and fat yellow. He conjectured that the reason for the difference between male and female plumage was down to the trait being supressed in the apparently drab females of certain species, serving the purpose of reducing its vulnerability to predators when nesting. The proof that was used to support his theory was the consideration of avian species whereby both sexes show brightly coloured plumage. Examples include kingfishers and bee-eaters, all of which, surely non-coincidentally, nest in holes, away from the prying eyes of their pursuers.
Wallace also held a keen interest in matters surrounding the origin of species, and it was during a severe bought of malarial fever that the revolutionary idea of natural selection occurred to him. Once recovered, he set to work composing an essay proposing his theory, and submitted it to one of the most accomplished and distinguished natural scientists at the time – Charles Darwin. Darwin was astounded: a decade and a half earlier, he had generated a very similar idea himself and had since been slowly amassing evidence that would serve as supporting proof, before announcing the theory publicly. Both Darwin and Wallace’s ideas were documented and sent away to be examined by a learned scientific society.
Problems surrounding the origin of species persisted, with many individuals including Darwin and Wallace themselves questioning the viability of the theory of natural selection. Complicating the matter were issues such as the complex and stunning displays of birds of paradise, which natural selection simply failed to justify. Eventually, Darwin concluded that in birds like the peacock, the purpose of such impressive plumage was to impress upon the peahen, which would survey the displaying males and eventually make her choice of mating partner based on the splendour of his iridescent coverts. This, of course, proves as evidence that birds have an aesthetic response, and thus the ability to appreciate beauty.
Regardless of Darwin’s evidence, Wallace struggled to agree with this and believed that the appreciation of beauty was a characteristic unique to human beings. Despite his unwillingness to accept the proposal, by and by he agreed to strike a deal with Darwin. For the sake of their theory of evolution by natural selection, the pair would keep their disagreement quiet. It was towards the end of Darwin’s life, many years later, that new discoveries had begun to be made which provided an important variation on the principle of drab females and spectacular males. This came in the form of species whose males didn’t modify their bodies but instead utilised materials, collecting inanimate objects and using them to craft something which would attract the attention of the females. “Now we’re becoming quite close to the concept of [an animal] being an artist” said Attenborough, introducing an example of such a species which is, of course, the bower bird.
Sir David had prepared a clip of the satin bowerbird of Australia, a species whose males – much like other types of bowerbird - construct impressive arches of grass, decorated with collections of small offerings, that act as neither nest nor shelter, but exist purely to impress females. Following the clip he recalled his time spent overseas, working to gather the very footage that the audience had just enjoyed, and his account served as a striking piece of evidence in support of his argument. With a limited number of cameras, he told of how he and the rest of the film crew were forced to make a precarious judgement as to which bower nest would be the most effective at attracting a female, in order to successfully capture mating behaviour. The decision was made on the basis of which nest the team found the most appealing and they shortly discovered that, incredibly, their choice was identical to that of the female bower bird. This could suggest that the bird, and perhaps many other animal species, have a very similar notion of beauty to that held by humans.
A further accepted source of beauty which doesn’t involve feather colouration, and that is certainly a question of production by art, is the mastery of choreography and dance. Over fifty different species of birds of paradise seek to impress potential partners by what Sir David referred to as “gorgeous, extraordinary, almost surrealist” feather displays. However, one particular male bird – the parotia bird of paradise – has adopted a very plain plumage, largely black apart from a small iridescent bib. This species, along with several others, depends on the medium of dance to encourage the opposite sex, and the parotia even goes to the efforts of carefully preparing its own ‘stage’ on the forest floor, something Attenborough recalled from his very own observations as an arrangement that, when one comes across it, “you can’t believe that it [isn’t] manmade – [it is an] immaculate area, free of twigs and leaves in the middle of the thickest bush”.
The talk was accompanied by a plethora of captivating and entertaining video clips, all taken from Sir David’s extensive range of fascinating documentaries. Not only did they showcase stunning bird species such as the bower bird, superb lyrebird and the parotia bird of paradise, but they also demonstrated the intriguing behaviour of many other members of the animal kingdom including the peacock spider and a Japanese pufferfish, all of which could be witnessed using forms of art - be it dance, sculpture or song - in an attempt to attract a mate.
Today, we are aware that the disparity that was noted between males and females of Darwin’s exclusive example of peacocks and birds of paradise actually spreads throughout the animal kingdom. Sir David elucidated that we are still, in the current age, making new discoveries of all sorts of organisms which seems to admire pulchritude. Species of all kinds – birds, cetaceans, fish, invertebrates, primates – all go to enormous lengths to produce courtship displays that, apart from the prospect of attracting the attention of a potential partner, have no practical value. This behaviour doesn’t serve to produce more food, protect young, defend the animal from predators; it purely acts to please females. Sir David concluded that it does so because the females of species must have an aesthetic sense, proving that animals, as well as human beings, can appreciate the arts.
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| Sir David Attenborough believes that animals have an aesthetic sense, and an ability to appreciate the arts |
Taking inspiration from his main reason for visiting Sir David, after being warmly welcomed onto the stage by Lord Grocott as ‘the speaker who needs no introduction’, introduced the subject of today’s talk. He explained that since he was soon to be launching the new facility devoted entirely to the arts, he thought it appropriate to consider how the arts, whose main concern is beauty, may affect the natural world. He highlighted the widely held conception, soon to be proved misconception, that the acknowledgement and appreciation of beauty is a prerogative purely of humankind. This is, perhaps, a characteristic which many would say could be used to assess whether or not a being is human, however the iconic broadcaster was eager to challenge this view. We may appreciate immense beauty throughout all aspects of our natural environment, but do other species value it also?
Attenborough stressed the importance of investigating the history and processes of evolution in order to consider this question by providing the already attentive audience with an incredibly extensive overview of the work of famed life scientists Charles Darwin and the lesser known Alfred Russel Wallace. Beginning with Wallace, we were transported to the 1884, to a time where he, after moving to Leicester to begin a teaching career, began the study of beetles that could be found within the area’s countryside. The sheer number of different beetle species which himself and project partner and friend, Henry Walter Bates, managed to collect generated much inquisition, and they were compelled to explore the reasons behind this incredible discovery.
The pair embarked on an epic voyage to the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, where Wallace remained for four years. Carrying out a vast range of scientific observations and collecting a huge array of specimens, he finally departed in 1852, only to experience calamity on his return journey across the Atlantic after his ship caught fire and the entirety of his work was lost. Undeterred, Wallace set out again two years later, this time heading to an Indonesian archipelago with the intention of being the first person to ever witness the fabled exquisite, elaborate dances of its native birds of paradise.
 |
| European bee-eater, Merops apiaster |
Wallace also held a keen interest in matters surrounding the origin of species, and it was during a severe bought of malarial fever that the revolutionary idea of natural selection occurred to him. Once recovered, he set to work composing an essay proposing his theory, and submitted it to one of the most accomplished and distinguished natural scientists at the time – Charles Darwin. Darwin was astounded: a decade and a half earlier, he had generated a very similar idea himself and had since been slowly amassing evidence that would serve as supporting proof, before announcing the theory publicly. Both Darwin and Wallace’s ideas were documented and sent away to be examined by a learned scientific society.
 |
| Displaying Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus |
Problems surrounding the origin of species persisted, with many individuals including Darwin and Wallace themselves questioning the viability of the theory of natural selection. Complicating the matter were issues such as the complex and stunning displays of birds of paradise, which natural selection simply failed to justify. Eventually, Darwin concluded that in birds like the peacock, the purpose of such impressive plumage was to impress upon the peahen, which would survey the displaying males and eventually make her choice of mating partner based on the splendour of his iridescent coverts. This, of course, proves as evidence that birds have an aesthetic response, and thus the ability to appreciate beauty.
Regardless of Darwin’s evidence, Wallace struggled to agree with this and believed that the appreciation of beauty was a characteristic unique to human beings. Despite his unwillingness to accept the proposal, by and by he agreed to strike a deal with Darwin. For the sake of their theory of evolution by natural selection, the pair would keep their disagreement quiet. It was towards the end of Darwin’s life, many years later, that new discoveries had begun to be made which provided an important variation on the principle of drab females and spectacular males. This came in the form of species whose males didn’t modify their bodies but instead utilised materials, collecting inanimate objects and using them to craft something which would attract the attention of the females. “Now we’re becoming quite close to the concept of [an animal] being an artist” said Attenborough, introducing an example of such a species which is, of course, the bower bird.
Sir David had prepared a clip of the satin bowerbird of Australia, a species whose males – much like other types of bowerbird - construct impressive arches of grass, decorated with collections of small offerings, that act as neither nest nor shelter, but exist purely to impress females. Following the clip he recalled his time spent overseas, working to gather the very footage that the audience had just enjoyed, and his account served as a striking piece of evidence in support of his argument. With a limited number of cameras, he told of how he and the rest of the film crew were forced to make a precarious judgement as to which bower nest would be the most effective at attracting a female, in order to successfully capture mating behaviour. The decision was made on the basis of which nest the team found the most appealing and they shortly discovered that, incredibly, their choice was identical to that of the female bower bird. This could suggest that the bird, and perhaps many other animal species, have a very similar notion of beauty to that held by humans.
 |
| A male satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violates) waits outside his carefully-constructed bower |
The talk was accompanied by a plethora of captivating and entertaining video clips, all taken from Sir David’s extensive range of fascinating documentaries. Not only did they showcase stunning bird species such as the bower bird, superb lyrebird and the parotia bird of paradise, but they also demonstrated the intriguing behaviour of many other members of the animal kingdom including the peacock spider and a Japanese pufferfish, all of which could be witnessed using forms of art - be it dance, sculpture or song - in an attempt to attract a mate.
 |
| This elaborate sand structure is the work of a single, tiny fish: the Japanese pufferfish |
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