自然界最常见的果实颜色是红色和黑色。尽管影响果实颜色形成的因素很多，红色和黑色常被认为与食果鸟的取食选择有关，然而这一假说仍存争议。热带亚洲有全球最丰富的食果鸟，是验证这一假说的理想区域，相关研究却很少。
版纳植物园动物行为与环境变化研究组的科研人员通过使用红、黑、黄、蓝、绿五种颜色的人工果实和相同颜色的自然果实，对野外捕获（有经验）的四种主要以果实为食的鸟类（红耳鹎、白喉红臀鹎、黑冠黄鹎、蓝喉拟啄木鸟）和人工饲养长大（无经验）的同种食果鸟进行取食选择实验，验证取食选择与果实颜色的相互关系。结果表明这些食果鸟对颜色有明显的取食偏好：试验中所有的食果鸟都喜好红色的人工果实；野外捕获的有经验食果鸟喜好红色和黑色自然果实；人工饲养的无经验同种食果鸟喜好黑色自然果实，之后才是红色；所有的鸟类都不喜好自然或者人工绿色果实。同时，该研究还表明该地区食果鸟的颜色选择较稳定——种内、种间差异小。基于食果鸟稳定的取食选择及其对果实颜色的选择程度与该地区自然界果实颜色的组成相似，研究认为食果鸟的取食偏好是或许是该地区果实颜色进化的驱动因素之一。
相关研究以Bird fruit preferences match the frequency of fruit colours in tropical Asia为题发表在Scientific Reports。研究结果被一些国外媒体报道，如Nature publish group、
Bird fruit preferences match the frequency of fruit colours in tropical Asia
While many factors explain the colour of fleshy fruits, it is thought that black and red fruits are common in part because frugivorous birds prefer these colours. We examined this still controversial hypothesis at a tropical Asian field site, using artificial fruits, fresh fruits, four wild-caught resident frugivorous bird species, and hand-raised nave birds from three of the same species. We demonstrate that all birds favored red artificial fruits more than yellow, blue, black and green, although the artificial black colour was found subsequently to be similar to the artificial blue colour in its spectral reflectance. Wild-caught birds preferred both black and red fleshy natural fruits, whereas hand-raised nave birds preferred black to red natural fleshy fruits and to those of other colours. All birds avoided artificial and naturally ripe green fruits. The inter-individual variation in colour choice was low and the preferences were constant over time, supporting the hypothesis that bird colour preferences are a contributing factor driving fruit colour evolution in tropical Asia.