Abstract
BackgroundPlumage coloration is important for bird communication, most notably in sexual signalling. Colour is often considered a good quality indicator, and the expression of exaggerated colours may depend on individual condition during moult. After moult, plumage coloration has been deemed fixed due to the fact that feathers are dead structures. Still, many plumage colours change after moult, although whether this affects signalling has not been sufficiently assessed.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe studied changes in coloration after moult in four passerine birds (robin, Erithacus rubecula; blackbird, Turdus merula; blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus; and great tit, Parus major) displaying various coloration types (melanin-, carotenoid-based and structural). Birds were caught regularly during three years to measure plumage reflectance. We used models of avian colour vision to derive two variables, one describing chromatic and the other achromatic variation over the year that can be compared in magnitude among different colour types. All studied plumage patches but one (yellow breast of the blue tit) showed significant chromatic changes over the year, although these were smaller than for a typical dynamic trait (bill colour). Overall, structural colours showed a reduction in relative reflectance at shorter wavelengths, carotenoid-based colours the opposite pattern, while no general pattern was found for melanin-based colours. Achromatic changes were also common, but there were no consistent patterns of change for the different types of colours.Conclusions/SignificanceChanges of plumage coloration independent of moult are probably widespread; they should be perceivable by birds and have the potential to affect colour signalling.
Highlights
Plumage coloration is a prominent aspect of avian visual communication, playing important roles in such disparate functions as crypsis, competition and advertisement, whereby striking or contrasting colour patches often act as inter- and intrasexual signals of condition and individual quality [1]
In order to identify this reference point using the same criterion for all colour patches we summarized the information contained in the three coordinates x, y and z by calculating principal components (PCs) using SPSS 15.0
Our results show that carotenoid- and melanin-based pigmentary colours, as well as structural colours, can change significantly over the year, patterns differ considerably both within and between colour types
Summary
Plumage coloration is a prominent aspect of avian visual communication, playing important roles in such disparate functions as crypsis, competition and advertisement, whereby striking or contrasting colour patches often act as inter- and intrasexual signals of condition and individual quality [1]. Colour expression could change due to microbial activity [3], ectoparasites [4], accumulation of dirt particles [5], feather abrasion [2,6,7,8], application of cosmetics [9,10] or exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light [11,12]. These effects can in turn be modulated through investment in plumage maintenance [13]. Many plumage colours change after moult, whether this affects signalling has not been sufficiently assessed
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