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Body Color Expression in Birds

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Pigments, Pigment Cells and Pigment Patterns

Abstract

Birds display various body colors and patterns; some of them exhibit very beautiful colors and complex patterns. The main part in birds that shows body color is feathers. There are three known systems for the expression of plumage colors: (1) eumelanin and pheomelanin produced by integumental melanocytes, (2) accumulation of dietary pigments such as carotenoids, pterin, and psittacofulvins, from foods; and (3) structural colors as a result of fine structure of feathers and without special pigments. The pigment cell type in the trunk region of birds is the only melanocyte that produces melanin (eumelanin and pheomelanin), which is the same as in mammals. Since birds have additional two mechanisms (2 and 3) as noted above, they exhibit colorful body colors that are not shown in mammals. Based on the contents and ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin, the feathers exhibit white, orange, yellow, brown, gray, or black colors. Other colors such as bright yellow, red, or glossy metallic colors of red, blue, green, or purple, are derived by the second and third mechanisms. The body and feather color patterns and color combinations are determined in the feather root, during the feather developmental process. Body colors and patterns in birds often exhibit differences in body parts, age, sex, and season. Although during evolution, birds lost the colorful erythrophore, xanthophore, and iridophores found in lower vertebrates, they obtain dietary pigments from foods and show structural color due to the fine structure of feathers. With these colorations, feathers in birds often show amazing complex patterns. The diversity of body colors and patterns in birds are very important for their survival strategy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors deeply thank Dr. John Brumbaugh, Dr. Makoto Mizutani, Dr. Ai Shinomiya, Dr. Yoko Satta, Dr. Kunio Kitamura, Mrs. Mizuho Nakamura, Dr. Takayuki Tobita-Teramoto, Dr. Atsushi Kurabayashi, Dr. Yasunori Kayashima and Dr. Tomoko Adachi for their valuable help with the research. We also appreciate Dr. Katsutoshi Kino, Dr. Naoki Tsukahara, Dr. Masanori Sugiyama, Dr. Gen Morimoto, Dr. Harumi Kusano, Mr. Sachio Kono, Mr. Tsutomu Matsuda, Mr. Hiroto Hayashi, Ms. Tamaki Shimosaka, Groupe Pico, Ltd, Tokyo Tama Zoo, Fukuoka City Zoo, Ishikawa Zoo, and Nogeyama Zoo in Japan for the donation or supply of birds, illustrations, photos, and feathers. We are also grateful to the Avian Bioscience Research Center in Nagoya University for supplying chickens and valuable information. This research was supported in part by grants from the Keio University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan

    Toyoko Akiyama

  2. Reproduction and Developmental Lab., Yunnan Agricultural University, Yunnan, China

    Keiji Kinoshita

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  1. Toyoko Akiyama
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  2. Keiji Kinoshita
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Correspondence to Toyoko Akiyama .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Hisashi Hashimoto

  2. Preeminent Medical Photonics Education & Research Center, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Makoto Goda

  3. Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Ryo Futahashi

  4. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Robert Kelsh

  5. Department of Biology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan

    Toyoko Akiyama

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Akiyama, T., Kinoshita, K. (2021). Body Color Expression in Birds. In: Hashimoto, H., Goda, M., Futahashi, R., Kelsh, R., Akiyama, T. (eds) Pigments, Pigment Cells and Pigment Patterns. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1490-3_3

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