Cocks have towering combs, long and flowing tail feathers, and brightly colored, shiny feathers. As for hens, they are not only smaller in size, but also have dull, lackluster feathers and combs and tail feathers that are far less flamboyant than those of cocks. In short, they look very inconspicuous. Why are cocks more beautiful than hens?
We know that domestic chickens were domesticated from wild chickens by humans. Wild chickens are still distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Hainan in China, and their appearance is basically similar to that of today's domestic chickens. Chickens are a large family. Comparing various types of chickens, we will find that cocks being more beautiful than hens is a universal phenomenon, and the gender differences are most obvious in peacocks. In the duck family, the situation is also the same, with the mandarin duck's appearance characteristics being the most typical. Male mandarin ducks have extremely bright feathers, especially the orange-red sail feathers erect on their backs, which are very eye-catching. As for female mandarin ducks, they are gray-brown all over, looking particularly dull. It can be seen that male birds being more beautiful than female birds is not an isolated phenomenon, and there is a scientific explanation behind this phenomenon.
The reasons why cocks are beautiful and hens are plain are different, but they can all be attributed to the result of natural selection. Cocks are beautiful because of the need to show off during mating. In mate selection, hens have the right to choose actively, and they often choose those cocks with beautiful feathers as mates. Because cocks with beautiful feathers usually mean having excellent genes and a healthy body, their offspring also have a higher survival rate, allowing the cocks' excellent genetic information to be passed down from generation to generation. This selection tendency of hens has been reinforced generation after generation, resulting in the magnificent beauty of cocks that we see today. As for hens' plainness, it is due to the need for self-protection. Chickens usually nest on the ground and incubate eggs after laying eggs. During the breeding period, they are the most vulnerable, so for their own safety and to ensure the success of reproduction, hens' body colors need to be as close to the environment as possible, so as not to be found by predators. Through generations of natural selection, the dull body colors of hens that we see today have emerged.
In birds, the opposite situation also exists, that is, some birds' females are more beautiful than males. For example, the water hen and the colorful snipe are both more beautiful in females than in males. Why is that? In fact, the principle is the same. The roles of male and female in these birds are just reversed, that is, females have the need to show off during mating, while males have the right to choose. After laying eggs, females leave and it is the males who are responsible for incubating eggs. Of course, in birds, most of them incubate eggs and raise offspring together, so the body colors of the two sexes are usually similar. In this case, the side that shows off is not just about body color, but also about other abilities, such as calls or hunting abilities. For example, in kingfishers and gulls, males have the behavior of catching fish and offering fish before mating, proving that they have good genes and the ability to raise offspring.