A warbler's flashy yellow throat? There are genes for that

[ScienceDaily]

Birds get their bright red, orange and yellow plumage from carotenoid pigments -- responsible for many of the same bright colors in plants. But how songbirds turn carotenoids into the spectacular variety of feathered patches found in nature has remained a mystery. Now research might have pinpointed some of the genetic machinery responsible for the plumage coloration in Audubon's and myrtle warblers, related but distinctly feathered North American songbirds.

 

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