Chemical swaps give parrots their colours

Dusky lory parrots (Pseudeos fuscata) have a unique genetic change that allows them to sport a rainbow of colours. Pigments in their feathers called psittacofulvins, which are only found in parrots, are made up of carbon chains of varying lengths. These chains have an aldehyde group at one end by default when they’re synthesised, which makes the pigment red. Researchers found a gene in the dusky lory’s genome that encodes an enzyme that can modify the aldehyde into a carboxyl group, which changes the pigment’s colour to yellow.