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Researchers at the University of Granada and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence demonstrated a link between urbanization and plumage colour of birds. Species that thrive in cities are less brown and sport more elaborate colours. These colour differences are probably due to differences in habitat structure and predation pressure: cities are less forested, have different background colours and a lower number of avian predator species. The study includes information from more than 1200 bird species and represents a clear example of the impact of urbanization on wildlife.
Urbanization has a huge impact on the ecosystem and poses enormous challenges to animals and plants. The ongoing, worldwide increase in urbanization is considered one of the main causes of the steady decline in biodiversity.
Urban ecology is the field of research that focuses on the effects of urbanization on different organisms. For example, many studies have investigated how urban noise affects communication in birds. However, little is still known about the relationship between urbanization and plumage colour in birds.
Plumage colour serves many important functions: it can play a role in keeping an animal warm or avoid overheating (thermoregulation), in camouflage, in competitive interactions, or in mate choice. Cities tend to be warmer, have fewer predators, more artificial light and novel background colours like that of concrete and asphalt. It is therefore quite conceivable that the urban environment can affect the colour of animals.
Led by Bart Kempenaers, researchers at the MPI for Biological Intelligence and the University of Granada wanted to get to the bottom of this issue. They used a global dataset on the abundance of over 1200 bird species in habitats with different levels of urbanization and combined it with data on plumage colour. The team then analysed the extent to which plumage colour could predict the relative abundance of the species in urban areas.
The study showed that species that thrive in urban areas are less brown. 'Brown shades are more common in natural environments than in cities. We suspect that brown birds are at a disadvantage in a rather grey city. The predominant colours of a city and the lack of suitable habitats can therefore determine which bird species are successful there,' explains Kaspar Delhey, one of the two lead authors of the study.
In addition, successful urban bird species have more elaborate colours in their plumage, which is especially true for females. Cities seem to favour more colourful birds – probably because there are fewer predators in urban areas and ‘being seen’ poses a lower risk than in rural areas.
Previous studies suggested that colour diversity is lower in urban bird communities, but the team showed that the opposite is true. 'There are fewer species in urban areas than in rural areas. When we take this into account, the bird communities in cities actually have greater colour diversity,' says Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo, first author of the study.
The study clearly shows that successful urban birds differ in colour from those that fail to thrive in the city – urbanization and bird colouration are therefore linked. Future research will need to show whether this also holds true for other animal groups.
Prof. Dr. Bart Kempenaers
Director
MPI for Biological Intelligence
bart.kempenaers@bi.mpg.de
Colourful Urban Birds: Bird Species Successful in Urban Environments Have More Elaborate Colours and Less Brown
Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo*, Kaspar Delhey*, Lucía Izquierdo, Mihai Valcu, Bart Kempenaers
* shared first authors
Ecology Letters, online 4 April 2025
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70106
https://www.bi.mpg.de/kempenaers - Department website
The Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis) successfully colonized urban areas in Australia. Like ...
© MPI for Biological Intelligence / Kaspar Delhey
Brown-coloured forest birds, such as the White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaeus) shown h ...
© MPI for Biological Intelligence / Kaspar Delhey
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The Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis) successfully colonized urban areas in Australia. Like ...
© MPI for Biological Intelligence / Kaspar Delhey
Brown-coloured forest birds, such as the White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaeus) shown h ...
© MPI for Biological Intelligence / Kaspar Delhey
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