Why is this 'most popular bird' on Instagram?

 

Often in any scientific research you can't find a title like 'Instagramable (popular on Instagram)'.

 

But a recent study asks, "Which birds are best photographed and why?" They say that the photos of Frogmouth, an old relative of the owl, remain. More popular on Instagram than birds.

 

The frogmouth (frog-shaped bird) is commonly found in parts of the subcontinent and is considered an owl.

 

Researchers then called the results of the study "ironic" because night-time birds of this breed are often considered ugly.

Millions of animal photography fans have liked this Frogmouth photo on Instagram.

Researchers are also surprised. This study outlines some of the tricks of 'liking' pictures of animals.

 

"Because of its facial features, this (owl) does not look like any other bird," says Katja Thomas, a psychologist and head of research at the University of Constance in Germany.

 

"Frogmouth is very rare. In our database of 20,000 images, only 65 images of him appeared. I think maybe people who are interested in birds give a lot of likes to every visit.

Dr. Thomas himself is a photographer. He has researched what are the characteristics of the best pictures. They rank them with the help of likes found on pictures of birds of every species.

 

"It's the best area of ​​research," he said. Here countless users from all over the world connect with the help of pictures.

 

They found that birds with colorful hair and feathers ranked better. "Tracho and Hudhud have crown-like hair on their heads so they get more likes," she writes in her research in the journal Psychology.

 

Dark blue birds are considered to be the most attractive so far. Other studies have acknowledged the popularity of blue and said that people are influenced by it in tourism-related images.

 

For example, you must have liked the pictures of blue water beach, blue sky or sea water shining with sunlight.

 

However, seabirds were not considered more attractive in this study. The last part of the list includes "less attractive birds" including the sandpiper, the oyster catcher, the seagull and the vulture.

However, wildlife photographer Graeme Parde says the more photos are shared or liked, the less likely it is that the birds will be just as beautiful.

 

They also post their photos on their Instagram account. "Anything attractive or lovely affects human nature, like big eyes," he says.

 

Graeme was recently awarded the Sony World Photography Awards. He says he posts pictures on his Instagram that people can respond to more.

 

"People on Instagram like big cats (lions) and elephants, but sometimes I like a picture of a mongoose, but I don't like it."

"That's why beautiful and popular pictures can't be equated."

 

Instagram statistics also agree with this opinion. The most popular wildlife photographer has 6.9 million followers on Instagram. A beautiful Pomeranian dog (named Jeff Pom) has more than 10 million followers.

 

Like many people, I have spent a lot of time on social media and shared pictures of the world affected by lockdown. Now my dog also has his own Instagram account.

With the help of wildlife photography, especially pictures of cute animals, people are distracted from the bitter realities.

 

There are now many wildlife photography accounts on Instagram that raise awareness about animals and birds. Last year, The Ecology Project released a list of photographers who use their images to "promote positive thinking in society."

"Just looking at pictures of wildlife has a very positive effect on people, especially in these times," says Dr. Thomas.