Barred Beard

[Peter Dexter]

 

[Asher Kelman]

What is it about jungles that give rise to such beautifully colored birds?

Not fair that the n
Bird around here are mostly dull brown!

Asher

 

[Peter Dexter]

There was an article about that but I don't remember where.

 

[Asher Kelman]

There was an article about that but I don't remember where.

It’s actually not a real phenomenon, apparently:

The truth is that tropical birds don’t tend to be more colorful. Dr. Nicholas Friedman of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology explains, “if you look at birds in the tropics, there are a lot of colorful birds that stand out. But there are really more species in general there, and there are just as many more of the little brown ones”.[5]

In other words, the tropics are much more diverse in general than temperate or dry climates. The rainfall and year-round high temperatures contribute to rainforests having many more animal and plant species than other places. Of these many more animal species, some are brightly colored birds, but there are even more species that are plainly colored. The birds that are exported from the rainforests for zoos or as pets are the brightest birds, and these are the tropical birds that we in Chicago are familiar with. This leads to the overall impression that birds from the rainforest are more colorful as a rule, even though it’s not actually true!

“If you want to know more about tropical birds or even to see them up close, head to The Bird House exhibit at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum between now and June 18th to see some colorful birds you can’t find in Chicago’s trees. You can even see an ivory-billed aracari like the one pictured above!

Source

 

[Peter Dexter]

Good to know.