Search for: All records

Abstract To date, only two pigments have been identified in avian eggshells: rusty-brown protoporphyrin IX and blue-green biliverdin IXα. Most avian eggshell colours can be produced by a mixture of these two tetrapyrrolic pigments. However, tinamou (Tinamidae) eggshells display colours not easily rationalised by combination of these two pigments alone, suggesting the presence of other pigments. Here, through extraction, derivatization, spectroscopy, chromatography, and mass spectrometry, we identify two novel eggshell pigments: yellow–brown tetrapyrrolic bilirubin from the guacamole-green eggshells ofEudromia elegans,and red–orange tripyrrolic uroerythrin from the purplish-brown eggshells ofNothura maculosa. Both pigments are known porphyrin catabolites and are found in the eggshells in conjunction with biliverdin IXα. A colour mixing model using the new pigments and biliverdin reproduces the respective eggshell colours. These discoveries expand our understanding of how eggshell colour diversity is achieved. We suggest that the ability of these pigments to photo-degrade may have an adaptive value for the tinamous. 

Abstract Brown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are generalist obligate brood parasites, laying in the nest of nearly 300 avian species, and successfully parasitizing well over 100 host species. Cowbird eggs are generally considered non‐mimetic, although some have suggested that cowbird eggs resemble several of their host species’ eggs. To date, no investigation has examined the level of avian‐perceived similarity between cowbird and diverse host eggs in the contexts of light characteristics at the nest and the visual system of the relevant viewer. Because the cowbird exploits a wide range of species that lay in a variety of nest types, hosts view these eggs under an array of light conditions which could facilitate or hinder egg discrimination. When considering the visual system of the relevant viewers and the light conditions at their nest, we found that the coloration of cowbird eggs was more similar to host than non‐host species’ eggs. Host responses (whether they accept or reject cowbird eggs) were not statistically different when hosts perceived a large chromatic difference between their own eggs and the cowbird's eggs. Instead, we found that host responses were predicted by the degree to which nesting light conditions facilitated color similarity between host and cowbird eggs, such that hosts typically nesting under light conditions where this color discrimination task was more challenging were more likely to reject cowbird eggs. This suggests that the nesting light environment may have selected for increased coevolved egg recognition abilities in a suite of cowbird host species, even in the absence of parasitic egg color mimicry.