Darker coloured pigeons are healthier, researchers in France have discovered.
A study of urban pigeons in central Paris has shown that birds with higher levels of the dark pigment melanin have stronger immune systems.
They are also better able to fend off parasites.
Writing in the Journal of Avian Biology, the researchers say the findings may help explain why different coloured birds have adapted to different environments.
Lisa Jacquin, and her colleagues from the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, carried out the research in conjunction with Dr Simon Ducatez from the Natural History Museum in Brunoy.
The researchers explored why birds of the same species are often coloured differently.
