Researchers from the University of Konstanz and the University of Jena looked at photos posted by nine of the most-followed bird accounts on Instagram and analyzed 27,621 pictures that had been posted. The frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) – native to Australia and parts of Southeast Asia – was found to be the most Instagrammable bird. It’s not that the frogmouth appears in more Instagram photos than any other avian; it appeared in only 65 of them. However, it garnered far more likes than it should have – and more likes than any other bird species – based on the number of users who likely saw those photos. Prior research shows that colorful birds receive many likes, but birds that have some degree of relatability factor with birds usually comes down to the eyes – the eyes of the frogmouth are front-facing as are human eyes, and the plumage on its face gives the bird an angry expression, an emotion most humans can relate to.
To judge a bird’s Instagrammability, the researchers calculated the expected number of likes each photo should get based on the time the photo was posted and the audience size of the account. Photos that got more likes than expected got a positive score, while photos that got fewer likes got a negative score.
A few aesthetic factors seemed to consistently bump photos higher in the rankings. For example, the researchers wrote, birds with blue and yellow plumage consistently scored higher than birds with yellow and green feathers. Unsurprisingly, the team also found that birds tended to perform better the more unique or unusual they looked.
Picture Credit : Google
