If you think that wearing cosmetics is a human trait, think again, for researchers claim that flamingos also use “make-up” to appeal to mates.
A new study, published in the Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology journal has found wild flamingos use natural colour pigments as a cosmetic to make their feathers appear brighter and to attract a mate.
In fact, flamingos rub the reddish pigments, released in oil from a gland near the base of the tail, into their feathers to bring out their vibrant colour. The result, according to researchers studying the birds in southern Spain, is that the birds appear healthier and are more likely to find a mate.
While arranging their feathers, the researchers noticed that many flamingos scraped their cheeks across the gland before rubbing their face against their breast, back and neck in order to spread the colour. They explained that doing do made the birds appear more attractive to potential mates, not because of their eye-catching colour, but because other flamingos could tell they had made an effort with their appearance.
Dr Juan Amat, from the Donana Biological Station in Spain, told “BBC News”: “The rubbing is time-consuming. And the more frequently the birds practise it, the more coloured they appear. “If the birds stop the rubbing, (their) plumage colour fades in a few days because carotenoids (the pigments) bleach quickly in the sunlight.”