For the first time in over a century, a green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) with female coloring on one side of its body and male plumage on the other has been caught on camera. Prior to this incredible footage, the other known one was from more than a century ago.
Half-Male, Half-Female Bird
The incredible bird has glimmering yellow-green and aqua-blue feathers, with a clear line in the middle of its body. These characteristics make it different from typical males, which have a black head and bright blue color, and typical females, which are coated with grass-green all throughout.
The unusual creature was spotted by amateur ornithologist John Murillo at a bird feeding station. This was situated in a small farm within a nature reserve close to Manizales, Colombia.
Murillo then pointed out the odd bird to zoology professor Hamish Spencer, who is from the University of Otago in New Zealand. During this time, Professor Spencer was on holiday in Colombia.
Behind the Unusual Color Split
The odd differences in the coloring of the bird are due to bilateral gynandromorphism. This condition is an animal kingdom delight that has been observed among stick insects, chickens, lobsters, butterflies, songbirds, and spiders.
In birds, the phenomenon is believed to result from a cell division error that results in the creation of an egg. This allows for two varying sperm to be fertilized.
Professor Spencer explains that several birdwatchers can go on with their lives without being able to find any bird species with bilateral gynandromorphism. The professor adds that among birds, the phenomenon is incredibly rare.
In the course of 21 months, the bird regularly went back to consume the fruit and sugar water that the farm owners left out every day.
According to the scientists who documented the bird, the bird was not there every day. In fact, it stayed within the vicinity for roughly 4-6 weeks and then vanished after 8 weeks. In most cases, it would wait for other birds to leave before entering the station.
The authors note that the bird avoided other birds of the same species, while other birds also appeared to avoid it. With this, it is quite unlikely for the individual to have the opportunity for reproduction. As birds do not have sex hormones like humans, it is likely that the bird's internal organs were also divided into female and male, which is something that cannot be confirmed by mere observation.
The researchers noted the findings in the "Report of bilateral gynandromorphy in a Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) from Colombia."
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