Psittaciformes
EOL Text
Color in feathers resists bacterial degradation: parrots
Feathers of parrots resist bacterial degradation due to pigments synthesized internally.
"The brilliant red, orange and yellow colours of parrot feathers are the product of psittacofulvins, which are synthetic pigments known only from parrots. Recent evidence suggests that some pigments in bird feathers function not just as colour generators, but also preserve plumage integrity by increasing the resistance of feather keratin to bacterial degradation." (Burtt et al. 2010:214)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Burtt EH, Jr; Schroeder MR; Smith LA; Sroka JE; McGraw KJ. 2011. Colourful parrot feathers resist bacterial degradation. Biology Letters. 7: 214-216.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
| Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/0c72993e62464390affa57ab413aec87 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
| Specimen Records: | 1,437 | Public Records: | 615 |
| Specimens with Sequences: | 1,252 | Public Species: | 189 |
| Specimens with Barcodes: | 1,160 | Public BINs: | 100 |
| Species: | 259 | ||
| Species With Barcodes: | 241 | ||
Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Psittaciformes