Article
Colour also matters for nocturnal birds: owlet bill coloration advertises quality and influences parental feeding behaviour in little owls.
Oecologia - 1 Oct 2013
Avilés J M, Parejo D
Abstract excerpt
Chromatic signals of offspring quality have been shown to play a role in parent-offspring communication in diurnal birds, but are assumed to be useless in dim light conditions because colour-based discrimination probably requires more light. A major ecological and evolutionary conundrum in this scenario is why the nestlings of some nocturnal owls display colourful beaks. Here, we test the hypothesis that yellow...
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