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Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 11 42
#62
21 November 2020
Bird-o-soar
A record on colour aberration in Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker in, Himachal Pradesh, India
Plumage coloration in birds
is the result of the deposition
of a combination of pigments
in the feathers. The most
common pigments are
melanins that give rise to
black and brown colours
(Mcgraw 2006). Two types
of melanin have been
described in birds: eumelanin
(black) and phaeomelanin
(brown) (Mcgraw 2006).
Plumage aberrations are
not uncommon in wild birds
(Hosner & Lebbin 2006).
Several types of colour
aberrations of plumage or
bare parts of the body have
been described in wild living
birds. Albinism, leucism,
“brown”, and “diluted”
mutations are the most
frequently reported (van
Grouw 2013; Mahabal et al.
2016). Albinism is dened
as a total lack of both
melanins (eumelanin and
phaeomelanin) in feathers,
eyes, and skin as a result
of an inherited absence
of tyrosinase. Leucism
is a partial or total lack of
eumelanin and phaeomelanin
in the feathers as a result
of an inherited disorder
of the deposition of these
pigments in the feathers.
Leucistic birds always have
normal coloured eyes. In
the “brown” aberration,
an inherited incomplete
oxidation of eumelanin
causes black feathers to turn
dark brown.
In the case of dilution,
the pigment itself is not
changed, but a reduction
in pigment concentration,
or “diluted” colour (called
“pastel” if both melanins are
aected or “isabelism” if
only eumelanin is aected)
is observed compared to
the original colouration (van
Grouw 2013; Mahabal et al.
2016). In this note reported
on dilution in Fulvous-
breasted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos macei in
Hamirpur (31. 686N & 76.
521E), in Himachal Pradesh,
India. It is situated in the
Shivalik Hills of Himalaya.
Dilution in a male
Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker observed
on 25 July 2020.
Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 11 43
#62
21 November 2020
Bird-o-soar
Two individuals of abnormal
colour plumage variant
birds were observed on
18 and 25 July 2020 from
human-dominated areas
of Hamirpur. The bird was
completely white in colour
and red tinges on the
head with normal coloured
eyes, hence the most
likely aberration could be
“dilution”. Photographs
were taken for further
identication. Dilution is
dened as a quantitative
reduction of melanins. In
sized woodpecker with
stained yellowish-brown
underparts. Note white
barring on the back and thin
stripes down the neck and
chest. Male has an all-red
crown, female an all-black
one (Grimmett et al. 2016).
In India a total of 180 records
of colour aberrations were
reported in 72 dierent
Indian bird species over a
period of 129 years have
been reviewed by Mahabal et
al (2016). In that review there
is no report on Woopecker’s
colour aberration. On
the other hand Khacher
(1989) reported that colour
abberation in Golden-backed
Woodpecker (Dinopium
benghalense) in Ahmedabad,
Gujarat and he added that
apart from the light golden
colour the entire body was
white with light creamy tint
and he strongly stated that it
was not albino. In this regard
this is a rst known case of
dilution in Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker in India. Alaja &
Mikkola (1997) and Forrest
& Naveen (2000) stated
that in certain cases, birds
with plumage aberrations
reproduced successfully and
survived several years in
Fig. 1| Dilution in a male Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker observed on 18 July 2020.
this mutation, the amount
of pigment is reduced (Kopf
1986; van Grouw 2013;
Mahabal et al. 2016). The
pigment itself is not changed
but due to a reduction in
pigment concentration, a
‘diluted’ colour is observed
compared with the original
coloration. Further the
birds were identied as
a male Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker based on the
eld guide (Grimmett et al.
2016). Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker is a medium-
Dilution in a male
Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker
observed on 18 July
2020.
Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 11 44
#62
21 November 2020
Bird-o-soar
Satish Pathania1, Arockianathan Samson2
& Jabamalainathan Leonaprincy3
1 Leading Edge Adventures & Airparks Pvt Ltd, F.NO. 1206,
New Jai Bharat APT, Sector 4 Plot-5, Dwarka, New Delhi
110078, India.
2 Vulture Programme, Bombay Natural History Society,
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India.
3 Herpetology & Tribal Medicine, Department of
Zoology & Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College,
Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India
Email: 2kingvulture1786@gmail.com (corresponding author)
Citation: Pathania, S., A. Samson & J. Leonaprincy
(2020). A record on colour aberration in Fulvous-
breasted Woodpecker in, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Bird-o-soar #62, In: Zoo’s Print 35(11): 42–44.
References
BirdLife International (2020). Species
factsheet: Dendrocopos macei. Downloaded from http://
www.birdlife.org on 14 November 2020.
Forrest, S.C. & R. Naveen (2000). Prevalence of Leucism
in Pygocelid Penguins of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Waterbirds 23(2): 283–285.
Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (2016). Birds of the
Indian Subcontinent. Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt Ltd,
New Delhi, 528pp.
Hosner, P.A. & D.J. Lebbin (2006). Observations of
Plumage Pigment Aberrations of Birds in Ecuador,
Including Ramphastidae. Boletín de la Sociedad
Antioquena de Ornitologia 16: 30–43.
Khacher, L. (1989). An interesting colour phase of
the Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium
benghalense). Journal of the Bombay Natural History
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Kopf, F.H.M. (1986). Het kweken van kanaries. Best.
Lubnow, E 1963. Melanine bei Vögeln und Säugetieren.
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Mahabal, A., H. van Grouw, R.M. Sharma & S. Thakur
(2016). How Common is Albinism Really? Colour
Aberrations in Indian Birds Reviewed. Dutch Birding 38:
301–309.
Mcgraw, K.J. (2006). Mechanics of carotenoid-based
coloration, pp. 177–242. In Hill, G.E. & K.J. McGraw
(eds), Bird Coloration - Volume 1: Mechanisms and
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Owen, M. & P. Shimmings (1992). The occurrence and
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Samson, A., B. Ramakrishnan, A. Veeramani, S.
Karthick, P.S. Kumar, M. Ilakkia, A. Chitheena, J.B.
Bah & P. Ravi (2016). An observation on melanistic
form of Indian Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) in
Udhagamandalam, Nilgiris, Zoo’s Print 31(3): 3.
van Grouw, H. (2013). What colour is that bird? The
causes and recognition of common colour aberrations in
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the wild. Colour aberration individuals have
lower survival rates than normally colored
individuals, because they are more easily
detected by predators (Owen & Shimmings
1992). In conclusion, researchers must be
encouraged to report the records of all type of
colour aberration in wildlife in order to better
understand this phenomenon (Samson et al.
2016).
