Colorful, Unique Plumage of Songbirds Raises Risk of Being Traded, May Lead Extinction

According to a recent study, songbirds that have vibrant and unique plumage run a higher risk of being traded.

Experts believed that this could cause extinction.

One of the enduring trends has been the illegal wildlife trade, which generates up to US$23 billion annually, according to some estimates.

Tigers and pandas serve as examples of how aesthetic value can benefit wildlife conservation by luring in funding and support from the general public.

On the other hand, anything that might be valuable to protect in the wild so that people can view it is likely to be something that someone else wants to own for the same reason, viewing.

Unsustainable plant and animal trade puts species at risk of extinction in specific regions or even globally by rapidly depleting wild populations.

Songbirds

Songbirds are proving to be an interesting case to study. The majority of the bird species belong to this group.

However, many songbirds are traded and many of which are in danger of extinction.

For instance, people used to keep canaries as pets because of the lovely music they sing.

But in most cases, beauty also plays a part in songbirds' appeal.

The color of a songbird's plumage can predict its risk of extinction and likelihood of being traded as a pet, according to recent research from the University of Florida in the US, Massey University in New Zealand, and the Center for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity in France.

Colors and Graphs

The red, green, and blue values of the color wheel that make up the plumage of each species, were the first set of information the research team used.

This is a common method of quantifying color, which readers may be accustomed to from, for instance, television screens.

A value with a minimum of zero and a maximum of 255. And when these so-called RGB values are combined, they signify a particular color.

A bird with 55 red, 2204 green, and 255 blue, for instance, would appear light pink.

Unfortunately, using these RGB values to classify and identify colors is not that simple, so the group converted them into color categories using some basic math.

The primary color categories (red, green, and blue), secondary color categories (yellow, cyan, and magenta), tertiary color categories (orange, chartreuse green, spring green, azure, violet, and rose), as well as the additional categories of brown, light (including white), and dark (including black) were all used.

They used 15 categories altogether (including black).

Using a 3D graph with one axis for red, one for green, and one for blue, the scientists plotted every species.

According to how much 3D space each species of bird takes up, and the number of colors that each species represents for the entire community of birds that live in a specific area.

This is referred to by the team as color diversity.

Read also: Some Male Songbirds Can't Lure Mates Because They Are Losing Their Song 

Their findings demonstrated that species that are traded are more likely to exhibit particular color categories, including azure and yellow than species that are not.

Yellow is a color that appears frequently in the illegal wildlife trade, according to the team, in part because so many different species are yellow.

In contrast, azure is a color that is present on far fewer species, but when it does, it appears to be most frequently associated with species that are actively traded.

Compared to species that aren't traded, other colors like brown are less common to be seen on traded species.

In general, species with more distinctive coloration, like pure white, are more likely to be traded.

Biodiversity

Based on their color and how closely related they are to currently traded species, the team of scientists discovered approximately 500 additional species that are not currently traded but are at risk of future trading potential.

Since the tropics have the widest variety of colors, both in terms of the number of colorful species and the range of colors displayed by songbirds, this is the region that would lose the most colors if all currently traded species disappeared.

The extinction of these species would dull nature's color spectrum, resulting in generally duller bird communities around the world with less color variation.

Recognizing the aesthetic appeal that underlies the trade in songbirds is only the first step in the process.

Identification of species that might profit from monitoring and trade regulation can be made easier with a better understanding of the factors driving this trade.

The best chance of preserving the aesthetic value of color and the overall biodiversity enjoyed by the tropics is to locate, recognize, and protect hotspots of color diversity, Phys Org reported.

Related article: Researchers Investigate the Natural Time-Keeping Ability of Songbirds