The evolution of bird-of-paradise sex chromosomes revealed

Date:  April 1, 2019

Source:  University of Vienna

Birds-of-paradise are a group of songbird species, and are known for their magnificent male plumage and bewildering sexual display. Now, an international collaborative work involving Dept. of Molecular Evolution and Development of University of Vienna, Zhejiang University of China, and Swedish Museum of Natural History analyzed all together 11 songbird species genomes, including those of five bird-of-paradise species, and reconstructed the evolutionary history of their sex chromosomes.

Birds have an opposite type of sex chromosomes to that of mammals. That is, females have one Z chromosome and one female-specific W chromosome, while males have two Z chromosomes. The W chromosome is much smaller and gene-poor, similar to the Y chromosome of human. By sequencing the female songbird genomes, the researchers now uncovered the details of how Z and W chromosomes had become separated for their evolutionary trajectories, and which factors dictate the fates of the genes on the W chromosome.

Continued

Birds-of-paradise genomes target sexual selection

New genomic data from 5 birds-of-paradise reveal genes that are shaped by selection and help explain the origin of their spectacular plumage

Date:  January 28, 2019

Source:  GigaScience

A new study published in the open access journal GigaScience explores the genomes of a fascinating group of birds, birds-of-paradise, with work providing genome sequences from 5 birds-of-paradise species: 3 that did not have available genome sequences. Birds-of-paradise, with their elaborate and colorful feathers as well as complex courtship displays, have a special place in natural history. They serve as a school-book example of sexual selection, which is the outcome of generations of female mate choice of males that have "attractive" features. The result is an unparalleled radiation of species where males exhibit extreme morphological features and behaviors with no other evolutionary meaning than to attract females for mating. However, very little is known about the genetic variants that distinguish the lavishly colored birds-of-paradise from their less conspicuous relatives, such as the collared flycatcher. Whole genome availability of multiple species provides a rich resource for molecular evolutionary to identify genes that came under the influence of sexual selection, and a way to assess how these genes transformed the males' plumage into a colorful asset for mating purposes.

Continued

Birds of paradise in Malta

Sunday, February 3, 2019, 14:16 by David Dandria

On February 5, 1862, the P & O Steamship Euxine left Alexandria bound for Marseilles, with a stopover in Malta. On board was a special and unusual cargo in the charge of one Alfred Russel Wallace, identified simply on the passenger list as “Mr Wallace”.

This unusual cargo consisted of two live male birds of paradise that Mr Wallace had purchased in Singapore for £100 and was “determined to bring them to England by the overland route under my own care”, as he wrote in his 1869 book The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-utan, and the Bird of Paradise. They would be the first two examples of these wonderful birds to reach Europe.

Birds of paradise are exotic birds, the males of which have flamboyant and colourful plumage; they are found in southeast Asia, mainly in the Malay Archipelago and Indonesia. When the first Europeans sailed to this part of the world in search of rare and precious spices such as cloves and nutmeg, Malay traders gave them skins of birds which were so strange and beautiful as to excite their admiration. The traders called these birds in Malay “Manuk dewata” (Birds of God) and the Dutch traders started calling them in Latin avis paradiseus (paradise birds).

An early description of the birds by John van Linschoten in 1598, states that “no one has seen these birds alive, for they live in the air, always turning toward the sun, and never lighting on the earth till they die; for they have neither feet nor wings, as may be seen by the birds carried to India”. This fanciful description arose from the fact that when these birds were captured by natives for despatch to India, their feet were cut off for ease of transportation; in fact, one species still bears the scientific name Paradisea apoda (footless paradise bird), given by Carl Linnaeus in 1760, at a time when no perfect specimen had been seen in Europe, and practically nothing was known about them. This species is now known as the Greater Bird of Paradise and is one of the most spectacular members of the family.

Continued

Courier nabbed trying to ship stuffed rare birds in Indonesia

Posted 12 Oct 2016 20:53

Updated 12 Oct 2016 21:00

MAKASSAR: Indonesian authorities on Wednesday (Oct 12) seized dozens of stuffed birds of paradise from a hapless courier who did not realise they were a protected species, an official said.

The courier walked into the government conservation agency in South Sulawesi province seeking permission to ship the 64 birds of paradise and more than 80 bundles of cassowary feathers by air freight, said local agency head Dody Wahyu Karyanto.

The cargo company had demanded the courier produce an official letter allowing him to transport the stuffed birds and feathers to Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua.

"Once we checked, it turned out this wildlife was a protected species. We immediately confiscated (the items) and held the courier for questioning," Karyanto said.

Read on 

Videos: Rare Glimpses of Amazing Birds-of-Paradise Courtship Rituals

Birds of paradise have evolved into very conspicuous animals with orange, red and turquoise plumage and ornate wire-like feathers that have captured the imagination of scientists and bird enthusiasts alike.

Their showy features are a delight to behold, but they would also make them an easy target for hungry cats and other predatory mammals -- if there were any around. The absence of such predators is precisely what allowed these otherwise impractical species to evolve.

"There was an evolutionary opportunity to develop that kind of extravagance," ornithologist Ed Scholes of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology said. "They're a quirk of geography."

More than 20 years ago, wildlife photographer Tim Laman saw his first birds of paradise, the Standardwing and the Red Bird of Paradise, while traveling in Indonesia. He started imagining a project to photograph every species of these birds in their natural habitats of New Guinea and parts of Australia.

"It was one of the dream assignments on my list," said Laman, who's also a rainforest biologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Laman, whose work often focuses on conservation, finally pitched the project to National Geographic in 2003. He teamed up with Scholes, and during the next three years the pair made five trips to New Guinea and managed to photograph about half of the 39 species of birds of paradise.

Video and continued:  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/birds-of-paradise/

‘Birds of Paradise’ at the National Geographic Museum

Walking through the “Birds of Paradise: Amazing Avian Evolution” exhibition at the National Geographic Museum can feel decidedly otherworldly.

Part of it is the backdrop: lush foliage in exotic rain forest canopies and a surrounding of dank green. But mostly it’s the birds, in all their preening excess, that make visitors feel as though they’ve landed in some groovy 1970s disco — birds with blue feet and green iridescent faces. They’ve got swirls on their backsides, which they know how to shake. They hop from foot to foot or — bam! — suddenly transform their plumage into a shape like a comet or a trippy psychedelic smile.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/11/15/galapagos-islands-rats-targeted-death-save-birds/#ixzz2CUCE3V17