This study sought to examine the relationship between weather and aggression in Caribbean flamingos by utilising a novel observation method. Previous research has shown evidence of increased levels of aggression during periods of warmer weather in a wide range of species including humans. We observed the captive flock of Caribbean flamingos at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Washington, DC, USA) by means of a web cam, and correlated the observed instances of aggression with eight different weather variables gathered via www.weather.com. Results evidenced significant positive correlations between aggression and several variables including: temperature [r (38) = 0.31, P = 0.048], "feels like" [r (38) = 0.31, P = 0.049], and UV-index [r (38) = 0.35, P = 0.025]; and a multiple linear regression (stepwise) suggested that UV-index is a significant predictor of aggressive instances, thus highlighting the relationship between such environmental factors and flamingo aggression. Evidence has been found of a relationships between UV light and aggression in other species, and the results of the present study suggest a similar relationship in flamingos. Employing webcams may allow researchers to obtain larger samples to be included in the study of aggression or to examine this and other behaviors in a wider variety of captive animals.Keywords: flamingos, avian aggression, weather effect on avian behaviour www.avianbiologyresearch.co.uk AVIAN BIOLOGY RESEARCH 6 (3), 2013 215-220

Lateralization is defined as a behavior or mental process displayed by an animal in which there is a distinctive side preference. Caribbean flamingos have been shown to display lateralization in neck resting behavior (Anderson, Williams, & O"Brien, 2009), and relationships between this side preference and aggression (Anderson, Williams, & Bono, 2010) and pair-bonding (Williams & Anderson, 2012) have been previously found. The present study investigated whether Caribbean flamingos display lateral behavioral preferences in foot scratching and two types of stamp-feeding behavior, and examined the relationship, if any, between these lateral behaviors and both pair-bonding and aggression. Four of the birds displayed an individual-level lateral preference on one of the two feeding behaviors. Foot scratching preference was related to age such that older birds tended to utilize the right foot more for scratching. Results also suggested that birds who scratch with the left foot are more likely to be involved in, to be targeted in, and to lose fights, suggesting that lateral foot usage during scratching may be somehow related to social behaviors in this species, but as significant lateral scratching preferences were not found, such results must be viewed with caution. The lateral feeding behaviors did not appear to be significantly related to social cohesion.