You Can't Judge a Pigment by its Color: Carotenoid and Melanin Content of Yellow and Brown Feathers in Swallows, Bluebirds, Penguins, and Domestic Chickens

• Published in: The Condor
• Main Authors: McGraw, Kevin J., Wakamatsu, Kazumasa, Ito, Shosuke, Nolan, Paul M., Jouventin, Pierre, Dobson, F. Stephen, Austic, Richard E., Safran, Rebecca J., Siefferman, Lynn M., Hill, Geoffrey E., Parker, Robert S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2004
• Subjects: Amarillo; Golondrina; Eudyptes chrysolophus; King Penguins
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/condor/106.2.390; http://academic.oup.com/condor/article-pdf/106/2/390/29712439/condor0390.pdf

Abstract The two main pigment types in bird feathers are the red, orange, and yellow carotenoids and the black, gray, and brown melanins. Reports conflict, however, regarding the potential for melanins to produce yellow colors or for carotenoids to produce brown plumages. We used high-performance li...