Why does a red-winged blackbird flare its colorful wing patches? What does it mean when ducks bob their heads? Is the way a bird arranges its feathers significant? Why do some bird fluff up every time it calls?

Answering these questions gets to the heart of bird behavior, which is all about sex and survival. A new five-week online course offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology explores the fascinating patterns of bird behavior.

The goal of "Investigating Behavior: Courtship and Rivalry in Birds," which begins Jan. 6, is to help people learn how to observe and interpret some of the ways birds are communicating with their behavior. Some of those behaviors are literally a matter of life and death.

"It's not your typical text-heavy, lecture-based tutorial," said course instructor and content co-author Colleen McLinn, an extension associate at the Lab of Ornithology. "It's packed with multimedia and interactive activities that make this course unlike anything else available. We wanted to create a learning environment that's friendly and accessible to everyone." Course multimedia content comes from the Cornell Lab's Macaulay Library, the largest archive of animal sounds in the world, with a growing video collection.

The course explores a basic principle of bird behavior each week, featuring common and exotic species. From Florida scrub-jay families in which siblings help raise new chicks to the jaw-dropping plumages and bizarre dances of the birds-of-paradise, the goal is to help students develop new skills in observing birds and be able to apply what they've learned anywhere.

"You get the whole gamut -- from birds you might see in your backyard to the most spectacular birds on the planet," said course co-author Kevin McGowan, a researchers at the Lab or Ornithology. "If you pay attention, there are a lot of things happening -- you can look at small movements, see how movements are put together and figure out what it all means."

As part of the course, students participate in online discussions with the instructor and classmates. Interactive activities include trying to think like a bird -- making behavioral decisions that have a direct impact on survival.

"With this new online course, we want to share our passion for birds and nature in a new way," said John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "We want anyone who is curious about nature to come along as we explore the fascinating, beautiful and continually surprising world of birds."

The course was developed in partnership with eCornell, a subsidiary of Cornell. For more information about the course and to register for the next session, visit http://www.ecornell.com/birds. A video at this link provides a preview of the course content. The course costs $295 ($255 for Cornell Lab members) with a $30 dollar registration fee. To receive the Cornell Lab member discount, sign up by phone at (866) 326-7635.