What could be more interesting than a bird with beautiful, pink plumage? Not many things, I dare say.
The history of the color pink is certainly interesting, to say the least. According to scientific data published in the last few years, it is actually the oldest pigment.
As part of his PhD studies at the Australian National University, Nor Gueneli discovered that the bright pink color “dates back to the next oldest known pigment by 500 million years” and “was produced by ancient marine organisms. ” In a news release, Dr. Gueneli said:
To discover the pigment, “researchers crushed billion-year-old rocks into powder, and extracted and analyzed the molecules of ancient organisms inside them,” CNN reported. Bubble gum, flamingos, and cotton candy are proud to display the world’s oldest color….and so is the pink-browed rose finch.
The pink-browed rosefinch (Carpodacus rodochroa) is a finch in the family Frangilidae. According to Wikipedia:
This absolutely lovely bird is sometimes described as having raspberry plumage.
The underbelly of the males is a dark pink and the top is a brighter splash of pink.
They often feature a “maroon” crown and the classic furrowed brow that finches are known for.
Also like many finches, this bird is found in many places such as Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Finches are not known to be interested in migration, and the Pink-Browed Rosefinch prefers homes in boreal forests and subtropical and tropical high-altitude shrubland.
This lovely bird likes to eat herbs and grasses, seeds, and berries.
While this bird is found more in eastern Europe and Asia, some reports have been accounted for further west. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the cage-bird trade, the origin and nature of such instances are considered hard to assess.
As is common with birds, female Rosefinches are not nearly so vibrant.
Females are brown with streaked underparts, white eyebrows, and lightly streaked pale cheeks and throat
Females build nests during breeding season made of strips of birch bark, animal hair, and moss. They chose a location about 2 meters above the ground in bush cover.
Like many finches, this bird has a large range and plenty of places to live so despite it’s exotic coloring, it is not believed to be at risk or under threat of endangerment.
Check out this pretty bird in action:
The lovely bird, which sometimes resesmbles a ball of flying cotton candy, is about 16–17.5cm in length (6.2-6.8 inches) and is considered “medium-sized” with a long notched tail.
Who doesn’t love pink? How cool would it be to see such pretty plumage in person?
Nature never ceases to amaze us, giving us opportunities to see beautiful colors, interesting quirks, and fascinating behaviors in the animal kingdom. Nothing can stop our desire to know and see more, it’s just human nature.
H/T:pupperish
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