- A new study has found that flamingos form factions based on their personalities.
- The more docile birds hung out with each other, while the loud and extroverted birds had their own group.
- Understanding the social structure of flamingos can help keepers move birds between zoos.
Surrounded by flocks of flamingos, you may find that not much has changed since high school.
Some flamingos are aggressive and loud, others quiet and obedient, but all flamingos have their own unique personality. Easy to form factions Based on each other’s quirks, according to new research.
First author of the study Paul Rose What you might call a flamingo fan. He has analyzed captive flamingos for most of his career to help zookeepers as well as birds.
Why do flamingos form flocks?
Flamingos form long-term friendships that can last for years.
Shutterstock/Thomas Smolek
Rose already found from Research so far Flamingos love spending time with a few specific birds that they can call “friends”. And these close friendships can last for years.
But Rose and his colleagues University of Exeter and the Wild Birds and Wetlands Trust We don’t know why flamingos choose certain birds over others to maintain long-term relationships, and they set out to find out in their new study.
“We wanted to know if individual personality traits explain why these friendships form,” said Rose, a member of the Department of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Exeter. press release.
To find answers, Rose and his colleagues examined two captive herds of different species of flamingos — Caribbean and Chile Flamingo.
A personality score was determined for each flamingo based on how well the bird displayed three behavioral traits: aggressiveness, inquisitiveness, and docility. Basically, the higher the personality score, the more extroverted and extroverted the bird.
They found that birds who shared similar personality traits spent the most time with each other. And these factions can also influence the flamingo social structure.
For example, groups of aggressive flamingos were more likely to enter into conflicts with other flamingos for control of: food again Nesting ground.
“Submissive birds are less exploratory and adventurous, and tend to follow what other birds are doing,” Rose told an insider.
Although docile flamingos don’t usually initiate fights, their studies have shown that they defend themselves against aggressive members of their flock.
More aggressive flamingos may have had better access to resources because they are bolder, but docile flamingos may have used a different strategy to achieve the same end.
“If you don’t want to spend a lot of time getting aggressive or sorting out fights, you’ll spend time with birds that look like you. Search, trim your feathers and take care of yourself,” said Rose.
Additionally, the study showed that flamingos provide social support to their close mates. It meant that
Caribbean flamingos behave differently than Chilean flamingos
Chilean flamingos did not form flocks like their Caribbean cousins ​​did in the study.
Justin Sullivan/Staff/Getty Images
A flamingo’s personality seems to influence more than just who they spend time with. It also correlates with social roles, at least for Caribbean flamingos.
Caribbean flamingos with high personality scores (basically flamingos with “bigger” personalities) appeared to form stronger and more frequent social ties with other flamingos in their flock, a study found. I understand. They also tended to engage in more fights, both as winners and losers, and provided more social support to other flamingos.
For unknown reasons, the Chilean flamingo’s personality did not seem to predict social roles in the same way.
Rose suggests that this difference between species may be due to ecology.
How understanding flamingo social behavior can help zoos
New research could inform zoo keepers and help keep flamingos happier.
VCG / Contributor / Getty Images
flamingos are common moved between zoos Helps maintain genetic diversity in the herd. If you have to move suddenly, you’ll find a friendly face that makes you feel at ease. Flamingos are no exception. Keepers can help flamingos with their social lives by keeping their friends together.
Rose also recommends that zoos keep larger flamingo flocks when possible. That way, each flamingo has specific quirks and personalities, which can increase your chances of finding like-minded friends.
“These birds must be smart in a way, if they know who their friends are, if they know who to avoid and who to interact with,” says Rose. “Obviously, having and expressing individuality is important to a flamingo’s daily life, so we need to accommodate that in the flock we manage.”