Reflectance Spectra of Plumage Areas Colored by Green Feather Pigments

ABSTPCt.--Only rarely are green plumage colors due to the presence of green pigments. The best known is turacoverdin. Two galliform species (Ithaginis, Rollolus), Jacana and some anseriform species (Somateria, Nettapus) also have green pigments. The reflectance spectra of plumage pigmented by turacoverdin are characterized by distinct minima at about 570 and 610 nm. These minima represent absorption bands as confirmed by a transmittance spectrum of a turacoverdin extract. Surprisingly, the spectra of the two galliform species and Jacana also exhibit the characteristics of the turacoverdin spectrum, while that of Somateria is different. I show that the pigments of Ithaginis, Rollolus, and Jacana also resemble turacoverdin in containing copper in relatively high concentration, and conclude that these pigments are identical with or closely related to turacoverdin. Intra-and interspecific variation in reflectance spectra is assumed to be largely determined by the presence of dark, nongreen pigments in the plumage. The spectrum of turacoverdin supports the hypothesis that the pigment is closely related to the well-known red pigment of tufacos (Musophagidae)--turacin. However, the chemical constitution of turacoverdin remains unknown. The presence of turacoverdin and turacin in the plumage of the Musophagidae hitherto has been considered an autapomorphy of the tufacos. The fact the turacoverdin also is present in two possibly related galliform taxa argues for phylogenetic relationships between the Musophagidae and the Galliformes.