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Bizarre Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Captured On Film In Colombia

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An “extremely rare” half-female, half-male bird has been caught on film, a sighting that has only been reported once previously in this species more than 100 years ago. The bird was a green honeycreeper, Chlorophanes spiza. Green honeycreepers are sexually dimorphic songbirds where males and females can be visually identified by their distinct plumage coloration and patterns: females are mostly emerald green, whilst males are mostly cornflower blue, with a black cap and a lemon yellow beak. But this bizarre individual possessed both blue and green coloration, and moreover, with the exception of a few stray feathers, the two plumage patterns were divided down its middle. This bizarre condition is known as bilateral gynandromorphy, appearing to look as if two sexes had been sewn together into one living being (Figure 1). Thus, colloquially, it is often referred to as a half-sider. F I G U R E 1 : Bilateral gynandromorph green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza), photographed near ... [+] “

Innovation Science Bizarre Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Captured On Film In Colombia By GrrlScientist , Senior Contributor. Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. GrrlScientist writes about evolution, ecology, behavior and health. Follow Author Dec 14, 2023, 09:42am EST Dec 14, 2023, 09:43am EST This article is more than 2 years old. This is the first record of a bilateral gynandromorph in this species in more than 100 years © Copyright by GrrlScientist | hosted by Forbes | LinkTr.ee Bilateral gynandromorph green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) photographed in t

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