{"id":26937,"date":"2023-04-04T14:19:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T12:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=76027"},"modified":"2023-04-04T16:37:04","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T14:37:04","slug":"which-bird-has-the-brightest-feathers","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/which-bird-has-the-brightest-feathers\/","title":{"rendered":"Which bird has the brightest feathers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woodcocks sport the whitest feathers known to science \u2013 they just like to keep them under wraps <\/p>

By Stuart Blackman\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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New research shows that the woodcock<\/a> is the unlikely owner of the brightest of white feathers of any bird tested.<\/p>\n

Woodcocks are not known for their white plumage. Their upper surface of these nocturnal waders is a mosaic of browns and greys that camouflages them exquisitely against forest floors by day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of it,\u201d says Jamie Dunning, who led the work at Imperial College London<\/a>. \u201cThey keep it where you can\u2019t see it, but where they can get it out when they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research, published in Royal Society Interface<\/em><\/a>, focused on a fringe of white spots on the underside tips of the tail feathers of both males and females.<\/p>\n

It shows that these are 30 per cent brighter than any other plumage tested to date. The feathers\u2019 barbs contain microscopic reflective structures and are flattened and overlapping, like Venetian blinds, to maximise the reflective surface area. The angle at which they overlap enables the birds to direct the signal precisely.<\/p>\n

The feathers\u2019 brightness probably aids visual communication in low-light environments, says Dunning. But what are they signalling? And to whom?<\/p>\n

Woodcock are well known for the males\u2019 \u201croding\u201d flights performed for females on the ground. \u201cWe know females use it to signal to males roding above them,\u201d says Dunning. \u201cAnd we think maybe the roding males use it too, because they fan their tail feathers as they do their parachuting flight down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe turned up an old, obscure reference to French hunters making fans out of the tail feathers and flashing them in the woods to attract woodcock,\u201d says Dunning. \u201cThere\u2019s another record of a female possibly flashing her tail feathers to a line of chicks following her.\u201d<\/p>\n

They may also use it to startle predators. \u201cIf you catch woodcock in a net to ring them, they frantically flash their tail feathers at you as you approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably a bit of a multi-tool,\u201d says Dunning. \u201cAnd they can put it back in their bag when they\u2019re finished with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main image: A woodcock flashes the white spots on the underside of its tail feather tips. \u00a9 Sven-Erik Arndt\/Arterra\/Universal Images Group\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n