Beautiful birds of color
Male birds may be known for their splendid colors, but researchers say a gorgeous plumage is not just a man's business - female birds have splendid colors too. Be amazed by these gems of evolution!
Stand out like a parrot
If you think only male birds can be gorgeous, think again! Many bird species, such as these scarlet macaws, show no difference in male and female plumage. They look just the same. These birds live in the tropical forests of South America.
Sexual dimorphism
In other species, though, the male is indeed dramatically more colorful than the female - as is the case with the shining honeycreeper, a species that lives in Central America. As you may have guessed, the bird on the right of this photo is the male.
Completely different
Sometimes you wouldn't even think the male and the female belong to the same species. The male scarlet-rumped tanager is mainly black except for a scarlet rump, silvery bill and dark red iris. The female, though, has a grey head, olive upperparts and brownish wings.
Depends on the species
Researchers from Germany and Australia investigated about 6000 species of passerine birds to find out why some females are very pale compared to their male counterparts, and some aren't.
Competitors
The bigger the bird species, the more likely the female will have colorful ornaments, the researchers say. In the tropics, the females tend to look more splendid. Females compete with other females for males - not just the other way around. And that's why evolution gave us both male and female birds with colorful plumages.
Courtship dancing
Birds-of-paradise are well known for their sexual dimorphism. The male - such as this king bird-of-paradise - is not only colorful but has amazingly long tail feathers too. To impress the female, the male performs an extraordinary courtship display, including tail swinging and acrobatic movements of its tail wires. And it fluffs its feathers to look like a cotton ball.
Proud as a peacock
Displayed feathers? The peacock knows all about it. To woo its hen, the peacock raises its stiff covert feathers into a fan and quivers them in a courtship display. Originally, these birds come from India and Sri Lanka.
King of the vultures
The king vulture from South America has an inconspicuous white, grey and black plumage - its head, however, while devoid of feathers, is truly colorfully. The bird's name is thought to come from its habit of keeping smaller vultures from getting at a carcass while it eats its fill.
Ornamental attraction
Yes, this is really a bird - a hornbill. They have unusual, colored bills and casques. Some bird species are hunted to extinction for their unusual body parts.
Red from shrimps
Flamingos feed on shrimp and plant plankton, which they filter from the mud. The carotenoids in this diet give flamingos their reddish color.
Just a little starling
In Germany, starlings look quite boring. But in other parts of the world they can be extraordinarily colorful - such as this superb starling. Yes, that's really its name, and it lives in East Africa.