Why are birds colorful?

Colorful feathers serve lots of different purposes:

• They are used to attract possible mates.
  
• Colors and patterns help birds identify their own species.
  
• Colors can help birds hide from predators by camouflaging them.
  
• Colors are used to attract attention when courting (ie: courtship displays).
• Colors are used to attract attention when trying to distract predators.

For example, when Killdeer see a predator near their nest, they pretend to be hurt and flop around with their wing extended. Under their wing is a patch of rusty red color (it looks like it might be bleeding). They trick predators into

by Julie Zickefoose

following them away from their nest because they’ll be easier to catch and then they quickly fly away!   

• Color and/patterns confuse predators. For example, one study found more Peregrine Falcons were unable to catch pigeons that had a white patch on their rump than pigeons that did not have the white patch. The white color confused the falcons!

Interesting Note:
Odd-colored birds of a species get picked-off more easily by predators. In general, if a predator spots a bird that stands out from the rest, they will try to catch it more often than the birds that blend in.

Did you know?

The red or yellow color of a male House Finch comes from pigments that it gets in its food. The more pigment in the food, the redder the male. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find.

Are birds smart?

Yes. Some scientists prefer not to call it “smart” but instead like to think that in order to survive birds have figured out how to do some pretty amazing things.

A few examples:

• Crows, can make ‘tools’ to get food.

• Grackles are commonly seen taking hardened pieces of bread or dog food, putting them in water, and then eating them after they have softened.

• Blue Jays will imitate the calls of hawks. Maybe they do this to tell other jays that a hawk is around, or maybe they are deceiving other species into believing a hawk is present so they can get their food.
• A female Brown-headed Cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds.The female deposits as many as 40 eggs per year in nests that belong to other bird species. The female cowbird finds these nests by watching patiently. She typically chooses a nest with eggs smaller than her own and lays just one egg quickly at dawn once there are a few eggs in the nest. Cowbird nestlings are typically larger than their nest-mates and eat most of the food provided by the confused parents.
• Flocks of starlings fly skillfully. They appear to move as a single unit in a fluid dance, especially when avoiding predators or mobbing. The birds on the edges lead and can change directions instantly. It takes just 67 milliseconds for the first birds to react to a change in direction. It's like doing  "the wave" at a football game, except that birds are much better at it than humans and they are flying at 30 miles per hour when they do it. Hawks become confused by a tightly packed flock.
  
• Some birds are thought to "play". Watch this video of ravens playing in the snow:

How can you tell males from females?

You can’t always tell what sex a bird is by looking at it. Pigeons or starlings for example look almost exactly the same. In general, males are more colorful. For some birds females may be duller and more brownish. Sometimes females are smaller (but this isn’t always the case—especially for hawks where the opposite is true).

Female Northern Cardinal flying photo by Jerry Zimick

One of the main causes of death in birds is predation (birds get killed by predators like cats, owls, and hawks).  Different bird species have developed different ways to help minimize predation.  In the case of the Northern Cardinal, these birds develop what is called "cryptic coloration".  The female is not as showy as the male and blends in really well with her environment, especially when she is sitting still on the nest.  Her brown color helps protect her and the eggs or young in the nest.  The male, on the other hand, has the job of first attracting a female and then protecting her.  For the male, it is important to stand out, so males are bright red in color. 

photo by Joseph Knoll

This color also helps intruders to see him and hopefully stay away from his territory (and his nest).

Do Birds have ears?

Yes, you just can’t see them. The feathers that cover the ears help reduce the wind noise and protect their ears.

Do Birds have bellybuttons?

In the egg there is a cord that attaches the developing embryo to the yolk sac. When the bird hatches, there is a residual scar where the cord used to be. While the bird is a nestling, you can still see what would be the avian equivalent of a belly button. However, as the bird develops, that area becomes more compact and in an adult bird there is virtually nothing to be seen of what once was the scar. So technically baby birds have belly buttons, but unlike the belly buttons of humans, these go away as they grow up.