Episode 75: Gynandomorphism in birds with Dr. Hamish Spencer

03/21/24 • 35 min

The sex of a bird – whether it is male or female – is one of the most critical aspects of its biology. Males and females often behave differently, especially during the breeding season, and in many species, they have strikingly different plumages.

This episode features Dr. Hamish Spencer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Otago in southern New Zealand. Hamish was recently in Colombia, where he was shown a bird that violated these rules.

Colombian ornithologist John Murillo had discovered a very unusual Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) on his farm near Manizales in Colombia and pointed it out to Hamish when he visited early in 2023. The bird exhibited aqua-blue male plumage on its right and grass-green female plumage on its left. The bird’s head showed the black hood of a typical male on the right, but the left side was mostly green.

This episode discusses this bizarre phenomenon, known as bilateral gynandromorphy. How did it affect this particular bird? How does it arise? How common is it? Which species has it been observed in?

The article reporting this find has colour photos taken by John Murillo and is available at https://journal.afonet.org/vol94/iss4/art12/

John Murillo’s video can be seen at https://figshare.com/articles/media/DSCN2268_MOV/23739894

This episode discusses this bizarre phenomenon, known as bilateral gynandromorphy. How did it affect this particular bird? How does it arise? How common is it? Which species has it been observed in?

The article reporting this find has colour photos taken by John Murillo and is available at https://journal.afonet.org/vol94/iss4/art12/

John Murillo’s video can be seen at https://figshare.com/articles/media/DSCN2268_MOV/23739894

Previous Episode

Episode 74: A pigeon’s nest at home and its ripple effects

When a pigeon comes into the house. This is a controversial episode. In fact, I am pretty sure nobody in the nature groups that I am part of will approve of this. In fact, they may even condemn this episode. Because you see, it is about pigeons, which birders call flying pests. But here’s what happened and so, if you listen or watch this episode, advance apologies.

About six months ago, a rock pigeon made a nest in my mother-in-law's balcony. This episode is about the ripple effects after that.

One day, I returned after a long trip and visited my mother-in-law who lives in a separate apartment in my building to discover that a pigeon had laid two eggs on a chair that she uses to sit on in her balcony. My mother in law was quite delighted with this development. She lives alone and having a living creature inhabit her home gave her a lot of pleasure. The problem is that these feral pigeons– rock doves– are carriers of disease.

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