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- Title
Aberrant White Plumage in a Broad-billed Motmot (Electron platyrhynchum) in Costa Rica.
- Authors
Manuel Mora, José; López, Lucía I.; Villalobos Alvarado, Elián
- Abstract
Patterns and body coloration have multiple functions in animals, including in social behavior. Bird coloration is affected by several factors which can result in several types of color aberrations, most being caused by genetic mutations. Although they have not been systematically quantified across multiple species and populations, chromatic disorders in birds are presumably rare. Brown is the most common heritable aberration, and Progressive Greying is the most common aberration in general, although most forms are not straight forward heritable. There is much confusion in the literature among types of aberrations, especially regarding white birds. The Broad-billed Motmot, Electron platyrhynchum, is found from Honduras to Western Ecuador, Central Bolivia, and Central Brazil, generally below 1,100 m. It inhabits mature wet forests and older secondary growth. As a result of a casual observation, a juvenile, white Broad-billed Motmot was detected on October 14, 2022 at the Anura Amphibian Conservation Farm in San Ramón, Costa Rica. The beak and feet of this bird were normal colored, which indicate that the white plumage is not the result of Leucism. Also, the motmot had normal colored eyes, so it is not an Albino. Here we report this case and discuss on key aspects of chromatic disorders in birds.
- Subjects
MOMOTIDAE; GENETIC mutation
- Publication
Caribbean Journal of Science, 2023, Vol 53, Issue 1, p45
- ISSN
0008-6452
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.18475/cjos.v53i1.a4