Sure, love at first sight can be a thing, but we all know that first impressions matter too – and it’s not always easy to win someone over.

So whether you’ve got a quiet crush, are preparing for a first date, or simply keeping the romance alive in a decades-long marriage, you might at some point find yourself the giver or receiver of a special gift.

A box of chocolates, a bunch of roses, a well-thoughtfully selected pastry, a new book or even a game… the most thoughtful gifts are the ones that someone has taken time to pick out, and has chosen with you in mind.

And if you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, enter the gentoo penguin: perhaps the most romantic gift-giver on Earth.

Mating as a gentoo penguin isn’t always easy. That’s because they’re not fans of playing the field: gentoo penguins mate for life, so choosing a mate is a serious business.

As is often the case in nature, the male penguin takes the lead in this respect. You might know already that a gentoo penguin propositions the desired partner with a specially-selected pebble, but did you know why?

Since gentoo penguins nest in the Antarctic, it’s more than a little chilly. This makes keeping their eggs warm a particularly difficult endeavour, so they build nests made of stones.

This raises the level of the nest and ensure snow and water can trickle out, and the parents can keep their eggs – and ultimately their young – safe and warm inside.

So what of that perfect pebble? According to an article by One Earth, the male penguins take time to select the stone to propose to the female penguin who has caught their eye, then wait eagerly for her response:

“The young male gentoos, about one to two years old, present their worthiness to a female with a gift: a stone, perfectly shined from the ocean’s waves. If a female is impressed, she too will find a stone, and they will go back and forth collecting the perfect rock collection until a nest is built. A home for them to start a family.”

Over the following weeks, the pair will build their nest, adding pebbles one at a time and guarding it closely to protect those precious pebbles from being stolen. And after 35 days in the nest, their chicks hatch, and eventually the cycle starts all over again.

All because he chose the right gift.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.