Birds communicate with each other not only by sound but also by visual means. One of the biggest tools in visual communication is its own feathers. For this reason, it is known that bird species living in low light areas have evolved to have some parts of their tail feathers white. In this way, the light is reflected from the feathers and communication with other birds can be established.
So, which bird species has the ‘whitest’ plumage? Scientists offered a new answer to this question in their study. The Eurasian snipe has been described as having the whitest plumage of any bird species whose whiteness has ever been measured.
It reflects 30% more light than what has been known to date as the ‘whitest’:
Examining the structure of the feathers with an electron microscope, scientists measured how much light was reflected from the white feathers. The results showed that white plumage in this bird reflects 30% more light than even the ‘whitest’ Caspian tern to date.
- Left: Eurasian snipe, Right: Caspian tern
This means that Eurasian snipe can communicate with each other over longer distances in dark environments. According to scientists, the reason this tail has such a high reflectance is that it actually evolved to communicate at greater distances in low-light environments.
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