Abstract
The two main pigment types in bird feathers are the red, orange, and yellow carotenoids and the black, gray, and brown melanins. Reports conflict, however, regarding the potential for melanins to produce yellow colors or for carotenoids to produce brown plumages. We used high-performance liquid chromatography to analyze carotenoids and melanins present in the yellow and brown feathers of five avian species: Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis), Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus), and neonatal chickens (Gallus domesticus). In none of these species did we detect carotenoid pigments in feathers. Although carotenoids are reportedly contained in the ventral plumage of European Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica rustica), we instead found high concentrations of both eumelanins and phaeomelanins in North American Barn Swallows (H. r. erythrogaster). We believe we have detected a new form of plumage pigment that gives penguin and domestic-chick feathers their yellow appearance.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 390-395 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Condor |
Volume | 106 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Aptenodytes patagonicus
- Carotenoids
- Eudyptes chrysolophus
- Gallus domesticus
- Hirundo rustica
- Melanins
- Sialia sialis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology