Scientists Discover First Known Hybrid Bird Species In The Amazon Rainforest

Hybrid species among vertebrates are exceedingly rare. Scientists have discovered the first known hybrid bird species to be found in the Amazon rainforest - a golden-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix vilasboasi) with yellow feathers.

They determined it was around 180,000 years ago when the two parental species originally mated, and that both parental species diverged from a common ancestor about 300,000 years ago, making all three very recent birds by Amazon rainforest standards. "Most Amazon bird species diverged from their most recent relative around 1.5 to 4 million years ago, so these are all young birds by comparison" said Weir. The male golden-crowned has unique yellow crown feathers that are much duller than its parental species. To learn more about this unusual characteristic, the researchers took a closer look at the keratin structure of the crown feathers of all three bird species using an electron microscope.