When people think of birds, they often imagine species with colorful plumage like parrots, macaws, and cockatoos. However, while vibrant colors are common in the avian world, green is perhaps the most unusual and rare color for a bird’s feathers. So what breeds of birds actually exhibit green coloration? And why does green plumage occur in some bird species but not others?
In this article, we’ll explore some of the bird breeds that can display green feathers. We’ll look at some examples of green-plumed birds, discuss the causes behind green coloration, and examine some of the adaptive benefits and drawbacks of having green feathers. By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of why some birds are green when most species sport colors like red, blue, orange, or brown.
Examples of Green Bird Species
While not common, there are a number of bird species where green feathers regularly occur. Here are some of the most notable green birds:
Parrots
Parrots are probably the most famous green birds. Many parrot species display green plumage, including budgerigars, parakeets, and lovebirds. The green-rumped parrotlet is particularly aptly named for its vibrant green coloration.
Green is so common in parrots that it can be easy to overlook. But next time you see a bright green parakeet or budgie, consider what a unique color it is in the avian world. While many parrots have green feathers, others sport colors like grey, blue, red, orange, yellow, or white. So green isn’t a given, even in these tropical birds.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds may be small, but they make up for it with their dazzling plumage. While ruby-throated and rufous hummingbirds sport red and orange colors, many species have bright green feathers covering their heads and bodies. Notable green hummingbirds include the green-crowned brilliant, green violetear, green-fronted lancebill, green hermit, and blunt-tailed hummingbird. The vibrant coloration coincides with their jewel-like appearance.
Pigeons
Perhaps surprisingly, some pigeon breeds display green feathers. Breeds like the green sheen pigeon and Andalusian green pigeon have feathers that shine with a green iridescence in sunlight. Other pigeons with green hints include the Victoria crowned pigeon and Nicobar pigeon. The common wood pigeon also shows green iridescence in some subspecies.
Parrots
Parrots are probably the most famous green birds. Many parrot species display green plumage, including budgerigars, parakeets, and lovebirds. The green-rumped parrotlet is particularly aptly named for its vibrant green coloration.
Green is so common in parrots that it can be easy to overlook. But next time you see a bright green parakeet or budgie, consider what a unique color it is in the avian world. While many parrots have green feathers, others sport colors like grey, blue, red, orange, yellow, or white. So green isn’t a given, even in these tropical birds.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds may be small, but they make up for it with their dazzling plumage. While ruby-throated and rufous hummingbirds sport red and orange colors, many species have bright green feathers covering their heads and bodies. Notable green hummingbirds include the green-crowned brilliant, green violetear, green-fronted lancebill, green hermit, and blunt-tailed hummingbird. The vibrant coloration coincides with their jewel-like appearance.
Pigeons
Perhaps surprisingly, some pigeon breeds display green feathers. Breeds like the green sheen pigeon and Andalusian green pigeon have feathers that shine with a green iridescence in sunlight. Other pigeons with green hints include the Victoria crowned pigeon and Nicobar pigeon. The common wood pigeon also shows green iridescence in some subspecies.
Parrots
Parrots are probably the most famous green birds. Many parrot species display green plumage, including budgerigars, parakeets, and lovebirds. The green-rumped parrotlet is particularly aptly named for its vibrant green coloration.
Green is so common in parrots that it can be easy to overlook. But next time you see a bright green parakeet or budgie, consider what a unique color it is in the avian world. While many parrots have green feathers, others sport colors like grey, blue, red, orange, yellow, or white. So green isn’t a given, even in these tropical birds.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds may be small, but they make up for it with their dazzling plumage. While ruby-throated and rufous hummingbirds sport red and orange colors, many species have bright green feathers covering their heads and bodies. Notable green hummingbirds include the green-crowned brilliant, green violetear, green-fronted lancebill, green hermit, and blunt-tailed hummingbird. The vibrant coloration coincides with their jewel-like appearance.
Pigeons
Perhaps surprisingly, some pigeon breeds display green feathers. Breeds like the green sheen pigeon and Andalusian green pigeon have feathers that shine with a green iridescence in sunlight. Other pigeons with green hints include the Victoria crowned pigeon and Nicobar pigeon. The common wood pigeon also shows green iridescence in some subspecies.
What Causes Green Coloration in Birds?
So what makes certain birds like parrots and hummingbirds flash such vibrant green hues? The source of their coloration has to do with feather structure and pigmentation:
Structural Coloration
Sometimes green color arises from the physical structure of the feathers rather than pigments. Tiny air pockets and light-reflecting surfaces in feathers can produce colored light through a process called structural coloration. This phenomenon occurs in hummingbirds and accounts for their brilliant iridescent greens. As light hits the feathers, the microscopic structure distorts and reflects specific wavelengths that our eyes perceive as color.
Pigments
In other cases, green feathers come from actual green pigments within the feathers. Parrots, for example, get their green color from a class of pigments called psittacofulvins. These pigments contain high levels of polyenal molecules that reflect green light. The specific types and amounts of these pigments lead to shades ranging from yellowish-green to deep emerald.
Porphyrins
A third pigment responsible for green feathers is a porphyrin called turacin. This is a copper-based pigment capable of producing vibrant greens and blues. It occurs in the turaco family of African birds. Turacos are the only birds with enough turacin in their feathers to look truly green and blue.
So in summary, green coloration arises from either structural greens from feather anatomy or specialized green pigments like psittacofulvins and turacin. The particular mechanism depends on the species.
Advantages of Green Feathers
Given its rarity in the avian world, what might be the potential advantages of bearing green plumage for certain species? Here are some of the beneficial roles green feathers may play:
Camouflage
Blending in with leaves and forests likely provides protective camouflage from predators. This may explain why many rainforest species like parrots and hummingbirds evolved green feathers through natural selection. The green hues help disguise the birds within the dense tropical vegetation.
Mate Attraction
Vibrant colors also play a role in attracting mates. The striking greens and iridescent feathers of male hummingbirds and parrots can signal good genes and fitness when courting females. So green plumage may provide a reproductive edge.
Species Recognition
The unique green colors could also assist with species recognition, allowing birds of the same species to readily identify each other. This may facilitate flocking behavior and help males and females of the same kind connect for mating.
So in summary, possible benefits include camouflage, mating success, and enhanced social interactions with others of the same species. However, there are also costs that come with green feathers.
Drawbacks of Green Plumage
Despite the advantages outlined above, green feathers also pose some potential downsides:
Energy Costs
Producing specialized pigments like psittacofulvins may be energetically expensive for birds. Investing resources into bright feathers means less energy for body maintenance and reproduction.
Predation Risk
Although green feathers camouflage birds in forests, the colors may stand out more against non-green habitats like plains, deserts, or tundras. This could hinder camouflage outside of the rainforest.
Prey Detection
Green and iridescent feathers may be conspicuous to insects and small prey animals. This could make hunting more difficult compared to drabber plumage.
Environmental Sensitivity
Green structural colors from feather anatomy could degrade over time and fade under intense sunlight. Pigment molecules also slowly break down through oxidative damage.
So green feathers may not be universally beneficial. Their advantages likely outweigh the costs in specific rainforest environments. But the same coloration might become detrimental if the environment changes.
Rarity of Green Birds
Given the mixed advantages and drawbacks above, we can surmise why green plumage is uncommon relative to other colors:
Narrow Habitat Specificity
Green coloration is best suited to tropical rainforests. It provides less benefit outside of those habitats. Many species simply aren’t adapted to jungle environments where green camouflage would be useful.
Specialized Feather Structure
Iridescent structural colors require precise feather anatomy that may be difficult for many birds to evolve. Pigments like psittacofulvins also demand complex metabolic pathways to manufacture.
Complex Evolutionary History
Birds arise from a long and convoluted evolutionary past. Their colors stem from a series of unlikely mutations and selections over millions of years in specific environments. Most lineages simply didn’t end up with green coloration.
In essence, everything from habitat preferences, genetic constraints, and evolutionary chance rarity constrained green color to just select groups of birds. But for those few species, green turned out to be a successful adaptation.
Famous Green Birds
Beyond the groups already mentioned, a few individual green birds have gained notoriety over the years:
Alex the Parrot
Alex was an African grey parrot famed for his cognitive abilities. Under the tutelage of animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, Alex learned over 100 English words and could answer complex questions about shapes, colors, and textures. His green plumage set him apart from most birds studied in labs.
Green Parakeets
Wild green parakeets like the Monk parakeet and Lilac-crowned parrot have become invasive species in cities like Chicago and San Diego. Escaped pet trade birds took root and now flourish year-round, providing a tropical flash of green to urban areas.
Big Bird
The famous Sesame Street muppet Big Bird is perhaps the most recognizable green avian character in pop culture. While not modeled on a specific species, his green plumage and yellow head crest imagines what a nearly 8-foot-tall green bird might look like. Generations of children have grown up identifying green feathers with this beloved character.
So those are just a few singular green birds that captured public fascination thanks to their rare coloration. They reflect our ongoing intrigue with these unique feathery greens.
Conclusion
While most birds sport colors like brown, black, red, orange, yellow, or blue, a select few species exhibit brilliant green plumage. We find green birds primarily among parrot varieties like parakeets and conures, tropical hummingbirds, and certain breeds of pigeons. Their green hues stem from specialized pigments and structural colors that evolved to blend in with rainforest habitats.
Green provides benefits like jungle camouflage but also drawbacks like increased visibility to prey. The rarity of green birds relates to habitat constraints, genetic limitations, and quirks of evolutionary history. So next time you see a flashy green parrot or hummingbird, appreciate how their exotic appearance differs from that of most avian species. The green birds stand out as exceptions to the broader patterns of feather color in nature.
