The effect of color in the foraging behavior of the Red Siskin (Spinus cucullata)

The origin of color preference in animals may have arisen from foraging or reproductive contexts or from a sensorial background, when color preference is expressed in different situations. Here, we observed the color choice in 20 individuals of the red siskin (Spinus cucullata (Swainson, 1820)). Focal behavioral sessions of five minutes in individual cages were made to test whether there is a color preference in the species and also if there is a sensory bias in choice, by checking if individuals would prefer to feed on items with similar coloration of their plumage. Artificially colored grains in the colors green, red and yellow were used as options for color choice. There was a strong preference for the green grains in the first choice and in the total number of visits per color during five minutes. Although it was not correlated with the plumage coloration, the significant green color preference indicates a color sensitivity in the species and raises the question if there is a sensory bias associated to related lineages or if individuals associate color with food composition.