Some comedians are born with it, and you just want to laugh when you see it!

It turns out that some comedians are born because you just want to laugh when you see them. Take the Crested Puffin.

Why does this bird look so cartoony? | Image source: Internet

The eyes of the Crested Puffin always make people feel that they are not very smart. Coupled with the unique bangs on their heads, they are simply emoticons. No wonder some people say that the Crested Puffin looks like Psyduck. If you look closely, it seems that they are really similar.

The Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella) is distributed in the North Pacific and is one of the most numerous planktonic seabirds in the North Pacific . In the ice-free waters near the Bering Strait, you will see many of these birds living in groups, foraging for squid or small fish and shrimps.

A group of Pikachu birds. ｜ Wiki

However, these comedians don't just rely on their looks to win, they have a variety of talents. After all, in the world of puffins, it's hard to find a partner without some talent.

During the mating season, the feathers of crested puffins emit a citrus scent that researchers say can be smelled from miles away and is so pungent that you can smell it before you see the bird.

Before this, people sometimes smelled odors on other birds, but these smells were generally foreign. For example, many passerines smear ants on their feathers because ants can secrete acid . Some birds use marigolds or citrus peels as "insect repellents" to repel a variety of arthropods.

Can you associate this bird with oranges? | Wiki

However, the orange smell of the crested puffins is not because they have monopolized the orange market, but rather comes from the inside of their bodies . In a 2001 study, scientists analyzed the smell of the crested puffins and found that their citrus aroma is actually some specific aldehydes. These odors are emitted from the scent gland feathers between their shoulder blades.

This smell helps the puffins find their mates. They will first walk around looking for the source of the scent. During courtship, the young auks will bury their beaks in the feathers on the back of the neck of the prospective mate and begin to smear and "sniff" each other .

The study also found that birds with stronger orange scents are truly the "ideal type" in the crested auk world . (The frequency, intensity and duration of courtship performances are greater)

Rub the orange flavor on each other～｜Flickr

In addition to being used in the ritual of finding a partner, this orange flavor actually has other uses. High concentrations of aldehydes can reduce the mobility of ticks on birds or even paralyze them, and can also repel mosquitoes.

So when crested puffin couples apply citrus-scented substances to each other, they are actually applying insect repellent to each other. The females may think that the males with stronger orange scents can provide stronger protection for themselves and their offspring.

In addition to being more "smell-like", the crested auks also look at "face" when looking for a mate. It is generally believed in their group that the one with the "bangs" on the top of the head and the larger crown is the more suitable mate. However. According to current research, these tufts of hair are a bit useless, but some people think that bangs can help seabirds navigate.

With this tuft of hair, this is the coolest puffin. | Flickr

In addition to visual and olfactory signals, calls are also their main way of communication. This is the real performance of these comedians. They have a variety of calls , which can be loud, clucking, woofing, and woofing (?). The most common type of courtship call is called "Trumpet Call", which is a specific complex call.

As soon as I blew the trumpet, several birds came over! ｜ Reference [4]

As shown in the picture above, when a male crested auklet "blows the trumpet", other little auklets immediately rush over and bury their beaks in the male bird's feathers. Researchers have found that blowing the trumpet is an essential part of their courtship process.

They also found that the frequency of the "trumpeting" sound may be related to physical condition . Perhaps the calls of these male birds are conveying the signal "I am in great shape!"

Ba Ba Ba Gu Gu Gu Ga Ga Ga Wang Wang Wang! ! ! ! | Flickr

All in all, during the puffins' courtship and breeding season (May to August), blind date parties on the coast of the North Pacific can be lively: calls of all sizes are accompanied by a strong smell of citrus, and the bangs on the heads of the puffins in groups flutter in the wind.

Once they find a partner, the faithful puffin couple will abide by the system of monogamy , build nests in rock crevices and give birth to children, and share the responsibility of raising children. These traditions are passed down year after year.

[1] Douglas, Hector D. "Prenuptial perfume: alloanointing in the social rituals of the crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) and the transfer of arthropod deterrents." Naturwissenschaften 95.1 (2008): 45-53.

[2] Douglas, Hector, et al. "Heteropteran chemical repellents identified in the citrus odor of a seabird (crested auklet: Aethia cristatella): evolutionary convergence in chemical ecology." Naturwissenschaften 88.8 (2001): 330-332.

[3] Zubakin, VA, et al. "Behavior of crested auklets (Aethia cristatella, Charadriiformes, Alcidae) in the breeding season: visual and acoustic displays." Biology bulletin 37.8 (2010): 823-835.

[4] Klenova, Anna V., Victor A. Zubakin, and Elena V. Zubakina. "Vocal and optical indicators of individual quality in a social seabird, the crested auklet (Aethia cristatella)." Ethology 117.4 (2011): 356-365.

[5] Hagelin, Julie C., and Ian L. Jones. "Bird odors and other chemical substances: a defense mechanism or overlooked mode of intraspecific communication?." The Auk 124.3 (2007): 741-761.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_auklet

This article is reproduced from / Bring Science Home

Editor/Xiao Xitushuo