Study Shows Flamingos Preen as Much as Other Waterbirds

Photo by BillPruitt/Shutterstock.com

According to a recent study, flamingos do not preen themselves much more than other waterbirds.

Flamingos are notorious for their entrancing, colorful feathers. The birds seem to have some sense of how beautiful they are, because they can be found preening themselves rather often. This has led some people, including experts, to conclude that flamingos might tip heavy on the vanity scale. Turns out, waterbirds just like to look good.

Published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour ScienceI and conducted by the University of Exeter and WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, the new report pops a long-standing myth about the fabulous fowl.

“It is widely believed - even among zookeepers - that flamingos spend more time than other birds preening their feathers,” Dr. Paul Rose, a senior lecturer at the university who was involved in the study, said in a press release. “But this hadn’t been tested until now - and we were surprised to find they are roughly ‘middle of the road’ among waterbirds.”

What Does Preening Mean?

First thing’s first: let’s get this whole preening thing out of the way. For those who don’t know, preening is when a bird uses its beak to reorganize and clean its feathers of dirt, debris, and misalignment. It’s essentially their way of cleaning themselves, they do it with relative regularity, and it’s pretty important.

Preening keeps birds healthy and able to fly. It’s a natural, instinctual thing for them. It’s almost impossible to imagine that you haven’t seen some bird at some point practice preening in front of you - they’re not shy about it. Us humans prefer privacy when we clean, but birds have more serious things to worry about.

Flamingos Preen Like Their Waterbird Brethren

Researchers monitored five of the six flamingos species for this study. Preening time was not universal, but the differences were not large enough across the board to be significant, leaving the scientists comfortable with their findings.

Rose reported that it is pelicans, gannets, cormorants, and other Pelecaniformes that spend the most time preening their feathers. He surmised that their regularity in the water is the likely motivator - waterproofing is important. Flamingos are wading birds and aren’t usually subverging all or most of their bodies until the water. This probably makes nonstop preening less necessary.

The study’s other discovery was the difference in preening behavior between captive and wild flamingos. The fabulous fowls in captivity preen themselves more than their wild counterparts, an interesting outcome that could be explained by a whole host of reasons. One suggested cause is a higher sense of competition among captive flamingos for food. A 2020 study uncovered that captive flamingos become more aggressive based on how many of their fellow flamingos are also eating in their confined space. It would be natural for flamingos to preen themselves after a squabble with another flamingo ruffled their feathers - literally and figuratively - and thus their preening rates increase.

Another revelation regarding flamingo preening centered around geography. In the same study, researchers at Exeter saw a correlation between latitude and preening frequency, which the study explains “suggests a possible effect of temperature.” This appeared most prominently during the non-breeding season and found a connection between higher latitude and more preening.

Why Does This Matter?

So, humans now know that flamingos don’t preen themselves any meaningful amount more than other waterbirds. Whoopty-doo. Why does this matter?

Rachael Kinnard, who helped work on the study, explained why.

“Our study shows the value of observing animals to understand their behavior,” she said in a press release. “In this case, a widely held belief about flamingos preening more than other waterbirds didn’t hold true.”

These sorts of discoveries can aid in our attempt to salvage and save wildlife across the world as climate change threatens many of the planet’s living things. Flamingos are no exception.

“By understanding why flamingos behave in certain ways, we can predict how climate and habitat change might affect them,” Kinnard said. “At present, greater flamingos are seeing their range expand due to climate change. Meanwhile, mountain species such as Chilean and Andean flamingos are really suffering. Studying captive flamingos can help us understand what their wild counterparts need. We hold so many species in zoos around the world - so the opportunities to study them, to learn how and why they have evolved, are huge.”