We complain about them, but without the doves, seagulls, rolls or handles, our city would be less “alive”-and apparently less colorful.
Some bird species not only adapt to urban environments, but also prosper, and do it in color, reveals a new study on April 4 in Ecology Letters.
Researchers have analyzed more than 1200 bird species and found that birds that are most successful in cities tend to have a brighter and more vibrant plumage, especially females. They are evolving, in response to the unique challenges and conditions of city life.
The color of bird penalties plays a key role in thermoregulation, camouflage, partnership selection and competition. But urban environments, with warmer temperatures, artificial lighting and monotonous gray landscapes, disturb these natural dynamics.
“Brown tones are more common in natural environments than in cities,” explains study author Kaspar Delhey, to. “We suspect that brown birds are at disadvantage in a very gray city.” This means that more dull birds may have difficulty thriving in urban areas, while the most colorful species adapt better and become more common.
The study also found that urban birds with more vivid colors are often female, which indicates that plumage change is not only due to sex PREDATION.
Cities tend to have fewer natural predators, allowing birds to be more showy colors without the usual risks of survival.
In addition, they noticed in a great diversity of color in the urban birds. Although there are fewer species in urban areas compared to rural habitats, the color range in urban bird communities is in fact broader.
“Cities create new ecological niches,” says Ibáñez-Álamo. “Even with fewer species, the poultry that remains are notably diverse in terms of color.”
