This is bird note. People have many ways to express love, but humans aren't the only ones with romantic gestures.

Many birds have their own ways of showing affection.

One way is alopreening, where a bird uses its bill to groom a partner, twirling each individual

feather in its beak.

In more than 500 species, alopreneing helps cement pair bonds and reduces the chances of separation,

but does not prevent infidelity.

In some other species,

birds present their partners with gifts like moss or sticks.

Among ravens, this can elicit a bout of alopreening or playing with

a present together. A female Arabian babler might reciprocate with a gift of her own, or just cut to the chase and lead

her suitor to a rendezvous spot in the shrubbery. Male whisked turns, gather food for their mates, but things don't always go as

planned.

Some females have been known to exploit courtship feeding by luring males into giving up fish meant for another female and then evading copulation.

If you're struggling to find the right dramatic gesture this Valentine's Day, you could copy these birds and offer some moss or dead fish, or perhaps stick to a box of chocolates.

For Bird Note and Wenfeitum.