In a surprising encounter during his holiday, University of Otago professor and zoologist, Hamish Spencer, stumbled upon an exceptionally rare bird - a wild Green Honeycreeper showcasing distinctive half-green female and half-blue male plumage.
The University of Otago shared this extraordinary find in a blog post, revealing that amateur ornithologist John Murillo first spotted the bird in the wild. The phenomenon, known as a bilateral gynandromorph, is exceptionally rare in birds and has never been documented in New Zealand.
Professor Spencer expressed the rarity of this occurrence, stating, “Many birdwatchers could go their whole lives and not see a bilateral gynandromorph in any species of bird. It is very striking; I was very privileged to see it.”
Gynandromorphs, as explained by Professor Spencer, are creatures displaying both male and female characteristics in species typically characterized by separate sexes. While this phenomenon is more commonly observed in insects, spiders, butterflies, lizards, and rodents, encountering such a bird is exceptionally rare.
Professor Spencer shed light on the origin of gynandromorphs, explaining that they result from an error during female cell division, leading to the production of an egg, followed by double-fertilization by two sperm. This unique occurrence adds another layer of fascination to the world of ornithology and highlights the diverse wonders found in the animal kingdom.
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