It's not just people that commiserate with each other when their team loses a contest - birds will also draw comfort from friends if they are beaten.

Green woodhoopoes, an African species, have been shown to bolster morale with group preening after rival gangs defeat them in singing contests.

The bonds between gang members intensified as rival threats strengthened. Leaders from each group of Phoeniculus purpureus redoubled their efforts to shore up morale after losing a contest against a neighbouring gang.

Andrew Radford, of the University of Bristol, who carried out the study, said it was the first time that animals other than humans had been shown to intensify bonding after a loss. He has reported his findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

It was likely that the behaviour had evolved to stop followers deserting and making future defeat more likely, he said. “The worse the conflict has been, the more they pull together as a group and the dominant group members are the ones that really up their preening.” This might “reduce stress and enhance cohesion among group members, which is particularly important following battles that are lost”.

Dr Radford compared the birds' behaviour to that of football fans who try to out-sing their rivals before retiring to the pub to celebrate or commiserate. “Rival groups regularly engage in raucous vocal displays, which are very similar to the chanting of opposing fans at a football match. When one reaches fever pitch, a flower or piece of lichen is often plucked and passed from group member to group member, much like the waving of a flag.”

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