Progressive color dilution and prolonged survival of a White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora (Trochilidae) individual in the southwestern Andes of Ecuador
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18272/reo.v11i2.3828Keywords:
Chromatic aberrations, hummingbirds, dilution, longevity, artificial feedersAbstract
A case of seemingly progressive color dilution is documented in a male White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora observed over a 16-month period in the southwestern Andes of Ecuador. In the earliest photographic records, the individual exhibited a noticeably lighter coloration, consistent with a pastel dilution-type chromatic aberration. This appearance was maintained for several months, but in more recent observations, the plumage shows a darker tone, possibly associated with a higher concentration of melanin. This variation has been interpreted as a gradual change in pigmentation, although it is acknowledged that the progressive nature of the process still requires further evaluation. Its persistence in the same locality, despite its high conspicuousness and repeated aggression by conspecifics, suggests that continuous access to food at artificial feeders may support its survival. This new record underscores the importance of long-term monitoring and provides valuable insights into the ecological and behavioral dynamics of atypical hummingbirds in anthropogenic environments, opening new avenues of research on their long-term adaptation and survival.
Downloads
References
Alexandre, N. M., Romero, F. G., English, S. G., Grames, E., Garzón‐Agudelo, F., Epperly, K., Barnes, T., Powers, D. R., Smith, A. E., Migicovsky, Z., Stein, L., Akalu, S., Sridhar, H., Montross, G., Collins, E., & Rico‐Guevara, A. (2025). Supplemental feeding as a driver of population expansion and morphological change in Anna's Hummingbirds. Global Change Biology, 31(5), e70237. DOI: https://doi:10.1111/gcb.70237 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70237
Beltrán, D. F., Shultz, A. J., & Parra, J. L. (2021). Speciation rates are positively correlated with the rate of plumage color evolution in hummingbirds. Evolution, 75(7), 1665–1680. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14277 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14277
Bitton, P. P., & Dawson, R. D. (2008). Age‐related differences in plumage characteristics of male tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor: hue and brightness signal different aspects of individual quality. Journal of Avian Biology, 39(4), 446–452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2008.04283.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2008.04283.x
Cadena-Ortiz, H. F., Bahamonde-Vinueza, D., Cisneros-Heredia, D. F., & Buitrón-Jurado, G. (2015). Alteraciones de coloración en el plumaje de aves silvestres del Ecuador. ACI Avances en Ciencias e Ingenierías, 7(2), 75–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18272/aci.v7i2.259 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18272/aci.v7i2.259
Cadena-Ortiz, H., Humbser, J., & Molina-Abril, P. (2024). Nuevos registros de aves con alteraciones de color de Ecuador. Revista Peruana de Biología, 31(2), 1–6. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v31i2.27481 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v31i2.27481
Colmenares, N. T. (2018) Agresión y forrajeo de néctar en colibríes (Aves: Trochilidae) en comederos artificiales cerca de Fusagasugá, Colombia (Tesis de Maestria). Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Cooney, C. R., Varley, Z. K., Nouri, L. O., Moody, C. J., Jardine, M. D., & Thomas, G. H. (2019). Sexual selection predicts the rate and direction of colour divergence in a large avian radiation. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1773. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09859-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09859-7
D’Alba, L., & Shawkey, M. D. (2019). Melanosomes: biogenesis, properties, and evolution of an ancient organelle. Physiological Reviews, 99(1), 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00059.2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00059.2017
Davis, J. (2007). Color abnormalities in birds. Birding, 39, 36–46. URL: https://colibri-ecology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Davis-2007-Color-Abnormalities.pdf
Delhey, K., Burger, C., Fiedler, W., & Peters, A. (2010). Seasonal changes in colour: a comparison of structural, melanin- and carotenoid-based plumage colours. PLoS One, 5(7), e11582. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011582 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011582
Dunn, P. O., Armenta, J. K., & Whittingham, L. A. (2015). Natural and sexual selection act on different axes of variation in avian plumage color. Science Advances, 1(2), e1400155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400155 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400155
Eliason, C. M., Maia, R., Parra, J. L., & Shawkey, M. D. (2020). Signal evolution and morphological complexity in hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Evolution, 74(2), 447–458. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13893 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13893
Ewald, P. W., & Rohwer, S. (1980). Age, coloration and dominance in nonbreeding hummingbirds: a test of the asymmetry hypothesis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 7, 273–279. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300667 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300667
Falk, J. J., Webster, M. S., & Rubenstein, D. R. (2021). Male-like ornamentation in female hummingbirds results from social harassment rather than sexual selection. Current Biology, 31(19), 4381–4387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.043 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.043
Fuller, R. A., Warren, P. H., Armsworth, P. R., Barbosa, O., & Gaston, K. J. (2008). Garden bird feeding predicts the structure of urban avian assemblages. Diversity and Distributions, 14(1), 131–137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00439.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00439.x
Fundación Jocotoco. (2024, Agosto 29). Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco. URL:https://www.jocotoco.org
Greenewalt, C. H., Brandt, W., & Friel, D. D. (1960). Iridescent colors of hummingbird feathers. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 50(10), 1005–1013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSA.50.001005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSA.50.001005
Gruson, H., Elias, M., Parra, J. L., Andraud, C., Berthier, S., Doutrelant, C., & Gomez, D. (2021). Distribution of iridescent colours in hummingbird communities results from the interplay between selection for camouflage and communication. Peer Community Journal, 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24072/pcjournal.7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24072/pcjournal.7
Guay, P. J., Potvin, D. A., & Robinson, R. W. (2012). Aberrations in plumage coloration in birds. Australian Field Ornithology, 29(1), 23–30.URL: https://vuir.vu.edu.au/22213/7/AFO2012V029N01_023.pdf
Hill, G. E., & Montgomerie, R. (1994). Plumage colour signals nutritional condition in the house finch. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 258(1351), 47–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1994.0140 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1994.0140
Inaba, M., & Chuong, C. M. (2020). Avian pigment pattern formation: developmental control of macro- (across the body) and micro- (within a feather) level of pigment patterns. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 8, 620. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.00620 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.00620
Lima, S. L. (1991). Energy, predators and the behavior of feeding hummingbirds. Evolutionary Ecology, 5, 220–230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02214229 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02214229
López, L. I., Mora, J. M., & Rivera, A. A. (2024). Color aberration in seven bird species in Costa Rica. Ornitología Neotropical, 35(1), 55–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58843/ornneo.v35i1.1277 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58843/ornneo.v35i1.1277
Márquez-Luna, U., & Arizmendi, M. D. C. (2025). Importance of feeders in the seasonal dynamics of floral resource use by hummingbirds in Mexico City. Urban Ecosystems, 28(2), 1–14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01664-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01664-5
McGraw, K. J., & Hill, G. E. (2004). Plumage color as a dynamic trait: carotenoid pigmentation of male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) fades during the breeding season. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 82(5), 734–738. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-043 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-043
Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador. (2012). Sistema de clasificación de los ecosistemas del Ecuador continental. Quito: Subsecretaría de Patrimonio Natural.
Mundy, N. I. (2005). A window on the genetics of evolution: MC1R and plumage colouration in birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 272(1573), 1633–1640. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3107 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3107
Parra, J. L. (2010). Color evolution in the hummingbird genus Coeligena. Evolution, 64(2), 324–335.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00827.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00827.x
Price-Waldman, R. M., Shultz, A. J., & Burns, K. J. (2020). Speciation rates are correlated with changes in plumage color complexity in the largest family of songbirds. Evolution, 74(6), 1155–1169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13982 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13982
Pyle, P. (2022). Examination of Macaulay Library images to determine avian molt strategies: A case study on hummingbirds. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 134(1), 52–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1676/21-00012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1676/21-00012
Ridgely, R. S., & Cooper, M. (2011). Colibríes de Ecuador. Quito: Fundación Jocotoco.
Roulin, A. (2004). The evolution, maintenance and adaptive function of genetic colour polymorphism in birds. Biological Reviews, 79(4), 815–848. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s1464793104006487 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1464793104006487
Silva-Rojas, S., Bello-Pulido, J., & Marín-Espinoza, G. (2019). First record of chromatic dilution in plumage of buffy hummingbird (Leucippus fallax Bourcier, 1843). The Biologist (Lima), 17(2). 347–350. URL: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=9397963 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24039/rtb2019172370
Simpson, R. K., & McGraw, K. J. (2018). Two ways to display: male hummingbirds show different color-display tactics based on sun orientation. Behavioral Ecology, 29(3), 637–648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary016
Stiles, F. G., Kirwan, G. M., & Boesman, P. F. D. (2020). White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora), version 1.0. In J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie & E. de Juana (Eds), Birds of the world. Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whnjac1.01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whnjac1.01
van Grouw, H. (2013). What colour is that bird, the causes and recognition of common color aberration in birds. British Birds, 106, 17–29. URL: https://britishbirds.co.uk/journal/article/what-colour-bird-causes-and-recognition-common-colour-aberrations-birds
Willoughby, E. J., Murphy, M., & Gorton, H. L. (2002). Molt, plumage abrasion, and color change in Lawrence's Goldfinch. The Wilson Bulletin, 114(3), 380–392. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1676/0043-5643(2002)114[0380:MPAACC]2.0.CO;2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1676/0043-5643(2002)114[0380:MPAACC]2.0.CO;2
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Pablo Sebastián Padron, Leodan Aguilar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Los autores que publiquen en la Revista Ecuatoriana de Ornitología aceptan los siguientes términos:
- Los autores/as conservarán sus derechos de autor y garantizarán a la revista el derecho de primera publicación de su obra, el cuál estará simultáneamente sujeto a la Licencia de Reconocimiento No Comercial de Creative Commons.
- Los autores/as podrán adoptar otros acuerdos de licencia no exclusiva de distribución de la versión de la obra publicada, pudiendo de esa forma publicarla en un volumen monográfico o reproducirla de otras formas, siempre que se indique la publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Se permite y se recomienda a los autores difundir su obra a través de Internet en su repositorio institucional, página web personal, o red social científica (como ResearchGate o Academia.edu).
