Birds rely on colors to spot food, mates, migration routes, and predators.
Typically, birds feel safe seeing colors that are the same as them. For example, Blue jays and bluebirds love blue, and hummingbirds love colors as vibrant as their feathers.
But what color do birds hate? Colors that scare birds include red, white, yellows, lime green, pink, and metallic shades as they may indicate dangers to these birds.
Read on to learn more about these colors that they find threatening?!
Table of Contents
What Colors Are Disliked By Birds?
Because of their sensitivity to ultraviolet light, birds can see many more colors than humans. Additionally, they are strongly affected by the intensity of the colors they are seeing.
This trait leads birds to have powerful responses to color, whether attraction or repulsion.
Generally, overly bright or neon shades keep birds away, while duller and muted tones make them feel more at ease.
However, though each species and even each displays different preferences, there are some colors that birds generally avoid for different reasons.
Alarming Colors
1. Red
Red is used to signify danger both in the human and animal world. Warning signs are red for a reason: the color can be seen clearly from great distances. Birds are afraid of the color of bright red, partly because they can see it more vibrantly than humans.
2. Orange
As a close relative of red, many birds also see orange, mainly when it is bright, as a warning sign of danger. Not only birds, but also humans commonly use bright orange as a warning color. An example can be taken from is the traffic cones.
3. White
Lastly, birds avoid white, especially if the white surface reflects a bright light. The color tends to signal aggression among avians and is read as a sign to keep away. It is easily one of their most hated colors!
Aside from being startled away by the glare in their eyes, white often leaves no place to hide from predators. This makes the birds feel exposed and vulnerable.
Dangerous And Unnatural Colors
Nature is colorful. However, some colors are less common than others or are associated with dangerous things. So what color repels birds?
1. Yellow
Though yellow is cheerful, yellow is also the color of many venomous insects and snakes. It is also the color of wasps and bees, which birds (rightfully) associate with painful stings. This makes yellow one of the potentially scary colors for birds.
Despite the many species that choose to turn away, goldfinches, warblers, and hummingbirds are some examples of species attracted to yellow.
2. Lime Green
Birds like green as long as they are in a muted, earthy tone. Bright lime green is unnatural and may only attract birds that like shiny things, such as crows.
3. Pink
For many backyard birds, bright pink is an obviously artificial and unnatural color.
The pigmentation also causes it to have extreme contrast against the dark green of leaves. This causes birds to worry that by approaching these pink surfaces, they will be visible to predators.
However, some birds like pink, such as hummingbirds and flamingoes.
4. Deep Violet
Even though purple just appears like one color to us, it can be an overwhelming sight for birds.
Scientists have discovered that birds can see up to four other variations of purple in combination with red, green, yellow, and ultraviolet. Birds tend to avoid purple, intense violet, because of its richness and sparsity in nature.
5. Metallic Shades
Gold and copper aren’t on the list of colors birds dislike, per se. Instead, they are scared of their reflective properties.
Aside from the glint getting in their eyes and temporarily blinding them (extremely dangerous in the wild), birds can’t recognize their reflection as themselves. Instead, they see an approaching threat.
Additionally, the metallic shade leaves them feeling exposed and visible to predators.
This specific bird phobia has been tapped by people who hang reflecting tape and CDs in their gardens to repel birds.
But why do people put coins in their bird baths if birds fear glinting objects? You might be wondering.
Coins work in a bird bath because they exaggerate the water’s sparkling in the sun, and no bird can resist a drink or cool bath. Copper coins also interestingly help keep the bird bath water clean.
So keep the shining objects in the water – not on the walls of your feeder or birdhouse!
Conclusion
It’s difficult to give one answer to the question of what color do birds hate. The answer changes for each bird, depending on each one’s natural habitat, environment, and life experience.
However, as long as you avoid an overly bright color and especially avoid red and white, you should have minimal problems with birds.
Unless you are looking to repel birds, that is. In this case, consider bright red and white picket fences and fixtures around your garden!
George and I became friends after a birdwatching trip with our new group. And we have been enjoying every adventure together. When he told me the idea of establishing a site that shares our experiences and fun, I immediately agreed. After trials and errors, here we have Thayerbirding.
