The common buzzard has three colour types (morphs) – dark, intermediate and light – with research showing that plumage colour is linked to reproductive success. European experts in animal behaviour investigated how these different shades of plumage are linked to individual birds' reproductive success.
The FITNESSGENES (The origin of fitness: Tracing individual fitness differences to genetic variation in a wild bird population) project explored the molecular basis behind these differences in plumage colour and other factors connected with the bird's survival.
Further details: Colour clue to fitness in Buzzards