Roo controlling the redness of his earlobe??

[lablover]

I noticed the other day while looking at my 3 month old roo that his earlobe looked pale pink in color. After I petted him and let him go, I noticed that the earlobe had turned a bright red like his comb and wattles are. I've noticed before that sometimes the earlobe looks pink and sometimes red. What causes this?

 

[centrarchid]

At most basic level it is an indicator of blood flow. Bird that is hot can direct more blood flow to such extremities and your handling was a stressor that would cause increase in metabolism / temperature. It might also be an advertisement of health, a healthy bird will be able to get more red into airlobe. Many health issues make such movement of blood more difficult.