Ruff lek: Ruffs often return to the same trodden grassy area, year after year, and meet each other in something resembling old-fashioned jousting. If they leave the game area for the time being, they can take a break and forage side by side without aggression. But when they are back on the lek site, they resume their furious battle. It is called "lek" - but territorially claiming ruffs fight with beaks and claws and can rarely kill each other. The females come to the site to study the males and choose the best one. However, they seem unfazed for the most part. After choosing their partner, they mate on the game site and then separate until the next year. According to a research team from Uppsala University, there are three different types of males. They have completely different plumage and different roles in the lek. They vary mainly in the color of the collar, which ranges from white to black and everything in between. The dark or strongly colored males are more aggressive and are called "sovereigns". They make up about 80%. They are the ones who get to mate the most times. Then there are non-dominant males called “satellites” and make up about 20% of the males. They can sometimes step in and mate with females when the “sovereigns” are too busy fighting. (The third variant is unusual and wears a female-colored suit all year round). [In the picture:] One of the, probably younger, males who are a bit out of the game. This individual has an unusual brown head and a brown-white collar and should, according to the researchers, be in the middle of the fight...