Tetrachromacy, oil droplets and bird plumage colours
- PMID: 9839454
- DOI: 10.1007/s003590050286
Tetrachromacy, oil droplets and bird plumage colours
Abstract
There is a growing body of data on avian eyes, including measurements of visual pigment and oil droplet spectral absorption, and of receptor densities and their distributions across the retina. These data are sufficient to predict psychophysical colour discrimination thresholds for light-adapted eyes, and hence provide a basis for relating eye design to visual needs. We examine the advantages of coloured oil droplets, UV vision and tetrachromacy for discriminating a diverse set of avian plumage spectra under natural illumination. Discriminability is enhanced both by tetrachromacy and coloured oil droplets. Oil droplets may also improve colour constancy. Comparison of the performance of a pigeon's eye, where the shortest wavelength receptor peak is at 410 nm, with that of the passerine Leiothrix, where the ultraviolet-sensitive peak is at 365 nm, generally shows a small advantage to the latter, but this advantage depends critically on the noise level in the sensitivity mechanism and on the set of spectra being viewed.
Similar articles
-
Coloured oil droplets enhance colour discrimination.Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Jun 22;270(1521):1255-61. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2003.2381. Proc Biol Sci. 2003. PMID: 12816638 Free PMC article.
-
Visual pigments, oil droplets, ocular media and cone photoreceptor distribution in two species of passerine bird: the blue tit (Parus caeruleus L.) and the blackbird (Turdus merula L.).J Comp Physiol A. 2000 Apr;186(4):375-87. doi: 10.1007/s003590050437. J Comp Physiol A. 2000. PMID: 10798725
-
Bird colour vision: behavioural thresholds reveal receptor noise.J Exp Biol. 2015 Jan 15;218(Pt 2):184-93. doi: 10.1242/jeb.111187. J Exp Biol. 2015. PMID: 25609782
-
Adaptive plasticity during the development of colour vision.Prog Retin Eye Res. 2005 Jul;24(4):521-36. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2005.01.002. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2005. PMID: 15845347 Review.
-
Evolution of color vision.Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1999 Oct;9(5):622-7. doi: 10.1016/S0959-4388(99)00014-8. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1999. PMID: 10508742 Review.
Cited by
-
Mate choice for a male carotenoid-based ornament is linked to female dietary carotenoid intake and accumulation.BMC Evol Biol. 2012 Jan 10;12:3. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-3. BMC Evol Biol. 2012. PMID: 22233462 Free PMC article.
-
Multiple UV reflectance peaks in the iridescent neck feathers of pigeons.Naturwissenschaften. 2004 Mar;91(3):125-9. doi: 10.1007/s00114-003-0498-0. Epub 2004 Jan 22. Naturwissenschaften. 2004. PMID: 15034662
-
Seasonal changes in colour: a comparison of structural, melanin- and carotenoid-based plumage colours.PLoS One. 2010 Jul 14;5(7):e11582. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011582. PLoS One. 2010. PMID: 20644723 Free PMC article.
-
The contribution of single and double cones to spectral sensitivity in budgerigars during changing light conditions.J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2014 Mar;200(3):197-207. doi: 10.1007/s00359-013-0878-7. Epub 2013 Dec 24. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2014. PMID: 24366429
-
Predator perception of aposematic and cryptic color morphs in two Oophaga species.Ecol Evol. 2024 Sep 30;14(10):e70351. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70351. eCollection 2024 Oct. Ecol Evol. 2024. PMID: 39355114 Free PMC article.