Rare Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Caught on Camera: Shedding Light on Intersex in Animal Kingdom

Extremely Rare Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Captured on Video

Scientists captured on video an extremely rare bird with male colors on one half of its body and female plumage on the other half, shedding more light on “intersex” in the animal kingdom.

Unique Sighting in Colombia

Scientists said that the rare green honeycomb bird was spotted on a farm in a nature reserve near Manizales, Colombia. It had aqua blue feathers on one half and greenish yellow feathers on the other half with a clear border in the middle. Males of this species usually have bright blue feathers and a black head, while females are grassy green in color.

Gene Defect

The bird’s unusual color is believed to be caused by a diploid gene defect, a rare error in cell division that results in the formation of an egg that allows fertilization by two different sperm.

Incredibly Rare Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Caught on Camera https://t.co/hwUKR8RhXl

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Internal Organs

“The bird showed typical male feathers on its right side and female feathers on its left side,” the scientists said, adding that its internal organs were also likely divided down the middle into male and female. However, scientists could not confirm this by sight alone.

Observations and Study

The team studied this rare bird for 21 months, during which it returned to feeding on fresh fruits and sugar water left by the Colombian farm owners every day. This is only the second report of a bird with acanthosis syndrome, as the first bird was recorded more than a century ago, but this is the first time that this has been captured on camera.

The team was not able to study the rare bird every day. He explained: “It appears that he remained in the vicinity for periods ranging from approximately 4 to 6 weeks and then disappeared for another 8 weeks or so.” The bird also appears to wait for other birds to leave before approaching, according to scientists from Whitehawk Birding and Conservation in Panama.

Reproduction Challenges

The team explained in the Journal of Field Ornithology: “On the whole it avoided other species, and others avoided it as well. It seems unlikely that this organism would have any chance of reproducing.”

Source: Independent

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