Is there a bird that can change colors?

Birds come in a huge variety of colors, from the bright red cardinal to the multi-colored peacock. Many birds’ colors stay the same throughout their lives, but some species can actually change the color of their plumage. So is there really a bird that can change colors?

Do any birds change color?

Yes, there are several species of birds that can change the color of their feathers. This phenomenon is known as metaphasia, where birds physically alter the structure of their feathers to change their appearance. It usually occurs seasonally, as the birds molt old feathers and grow new ones. Here are a few examples of color-changing birds:

• Ptarmigan – These grouse species change from mottled brown in summer to solid white in winter to camouflage with the snow.
• Willow ptarmigan – Males have brown plumage in winter but change to bright white feathers in spring, with black tails and wingtips.
• Rock ptarmigan – Males moult from white winter plumage to brown and black feathers in spring.
• Snowy owl – Juveniles are heavily barred brown and tan, changing to solid white as adults.
• Arctic hare – Though not a bird, the Arctic hare also changes from brownish-gray in summer to white in winter.

So birds like ptarmigans and snowy owls can transform between dark brown/gray and solid white. This helps them stay camouflaged in the changing seasons of their Arctic environments.

How do birds change color?

Birds can alter their visible color in two key ways:

1. Melanin – Birds have cells called melanocytes that produce melanin. This pigment occurs in two forms. Eumelanin creates black and brown colors, while phaeomelanin makes red and yellow hues. By increasing or decreasing melanin production, birds can darken or lighten their feathers.
2. Feather structure – The precise structure of the feather barbs and barbules, as well as the amount of air trapped in the feathers, can create different colors through optical effects. For example, the shimmering blues, greens and purples of birds like peacocks and hummingbirds come from light interference in their feathers, not pigments.

So by strategically changing melanin levels and feather structures, birds can transform the color of their plumage.

How often do birds change color?

The frequency of color change depends on the species:

• Seasonal changes – Ptarmigan, Arctic hares and snowy owls change color once or twice per year as seasons change. The color shift helps camouflage them against brown tundra or white snow.
• Yearly changes – Some birds with breeding plumage, like the willow ptarmigan, change color each spring/summer for mating displays.
• Daily/monthly changes – Tropical birds like the splendid fairywren can cycle through different color phases multiple times per year. This may signal dominance, breeding status or other social cues.
• Irregular changes – Birds may slowly change color over years, like great egrets darkening with age. Or their hormones may trigger irregular color shifts, as in flamingos.

So frequency ranges from seasonal plumage changes to more frequent shifts for social signaling purposes.

What causes birds to change color?

There are several possible triggers for birds changing colors:

1. Camouflage – Seasonal changes between brown and white plumage helps ptarmigan, Arctic hares and snowy owls blend into the tundra or snowy landscapes at different times of the year.
2. Communication – Color changes can signal important information to other birds, like mating readiness, social status, aggression or flock identification.
3. Heat regulation – Darker feathers can absorb more heat from the sun compared to lighter colors. Some hypothesis this helps birds regulate body temperature.
4. Diet – Pigments like carotenoids in birds’ diets can be deposited in growing feathers, changing plumage colors.
5. Aging – Younger birds may have different color patterns than adults, like juvenile snowy owls.

So color shifts are often strongly tied to seasonal cycles, breeding behaviors, mimicry, thermoregulation and dietary access to colorful pigments.

What are some examples of color-changing birds?

Here are some of the most dramatic examples of birds that can physically transform the color of their plumage:

These remarkable birds demonstrate the ability to transform their visible color more than once during their lifetimes. Their color-changing strategies have evolved to help them survive and thrive in extremely seasonal environments.

Can pet birds change color?

There are a few examples of pet bird species that can change color:

• Lovebirds – Some types of lovebirds develop more vibrant plumage around 1-2 years old. Their feathers may intensify from green to bright yellow, blue or orange.
• Parrotlets – Male parrotlets can moult from green to vivid blue as they reach maturity around 6-12 months old.
• Budgerigars – These parakeets generally don’t change color, but rare “lutino” variants can shift from yellow to white.
• Cockatiels – Some females who carry a recessive gene can change from grayish to vibrant yellow/white.

Pet birds like parakeets and cockatiels are relatively static in color compared to wild species. But ornithologists have documented rare color shifts in captive birds associated with maturation and sex-linked genetics.

Can all birds change color?

No, the vast majority of birds cannot physically transform the color of their plumage. Only certain species have evolved the ability to make significant color changes, while most birds have relatively fixed colors.

Here are some reasons most birds don’t or can’t change color:

• Their habitat and lifestyle don’t require seasonal camouflage shifts.
• They use vocalizations and displays rather than changing looks to attract mates.
• They lack the cellular mechanisms to rapidly alter melanin or feather structures.
• Their colors are genetically programmed rather than triggered by environmental stimuli.

While various finches, warblers, chickadees and songbirds may show slight variations in shade, most species do not dramatically transform color like ptarmigans or Arctic hares. Their colors stay constant to maintain species recognition and other identification throughout the seasons.

Do bird eggs change color?

Unlike the hidden eggs of mammals, bird eggs are fully exposed. Some species have evolved to lay eggs that dynamically change color over the course of incubation.

Examples include:

• Peregrine falcons – Their eggs are a rusty brown with reddish splotches when first laid, fading to creamier hues before hatching.
• Burrowing owls – Eggs are bright white at first, but develop brown speckles closer to hatching.
• Cassowaries – The emu-like cassowary lays light green eggs that turn dark blue-green before the chicks break out.

One hypothesis is that the changing egg colors provide camouflage as incubation progresses. This makes it harder for predators to spot the high-protein eggs and developing chicks.

Can baby chicks change color?

While their feathers may gain more vivid and defined color as they develop, most baby chicks don’t radically change color after hatching. However, there are some exceptions:

• Cardinals – Newly hatched cardinals are brownish-gray. At around 3 weeks old, males start growing bright red feathers.
• Flamingos – Flamingo chicks hatch with pale gray down. They don’t develop pink feathers for 2-3 years.
• Robins – Young robins have spotted brown breasts, which fill in to the vivid orange-red chest as adults.

So while many songbird fledglings resemble duller versions of the adults, a few species do transform color during development. This helps the vulnerable young birds properly mimic adults of their species for protection.

Conclusion

In summary, there are several remarkable species of birds that can change feather color, including ptarmigans, snowy owls, Arctic hares and splendid fairywrens. They transform between brown, white, gray and vibrant breeding plumages to aid camouflage, heat regulation and social signaling. However, the vast majority of birds maintain relatively fixed colors that don’t dramatically shift. So nature has specially adapted just certain bird species with the ability to completely change their visible color for survival in extreme environments.