Birds come in a wide variety of colors. Some feature relatively dull plumage, while others sport brightly colored feathers.

Birds like cardinals get their colorful plumage from carotenoids in their diets. But the colors in parrots’ plumage comes from chemicals known as psittacofulvins. Using genetic mapping ...

Scientists have known about these special pigments called psittacofulvins, but not really how parrots use them to create their diverse colors. Now, in research published in the journal <i>Science ...

Another phenomenon is becoming visible: hybrid macaws, the result of mixing between two different species. One way to recognize the hybrids is the abundance of color—orange, for example—unlike ...

More information: Roberto Arbore et al, A molecular mechanism for bright color variation in parrots, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adp7710 Journal information: Science ...

Scarlet macaws are intelligent and charismatic birds, captivating for their stark colors, elegant flight, and raucous chatter. Though the tropical species has a long history as pets, in recent ...

A combination of chemical and genetic analyses of the parrots revealed that ALDH3A2 is more active in yellow and green feathers than in red ones, suggesting that the enzyme helps feathers color swap.