View allAll Photos Tagged pigmentation
The black-legged kittiwake is a coastal bird of the arctic to subarctic regions of the world. It can be found all across the northern coasts of the Atlantic, from Canada to Greenland as well as on the Pacific side from Alaska to the coast of Siberia.
Black-legged kittiwakes' wintering range extends further south from the St-Lawrence to the southern coast of New Jersey as well as in China, the Sargasso sea and of the coast of west Africa. There are two subspecies of black-legged kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla tridactyla can be found on the Atlantic coast whereas Rissa tridactyla pollicaris is found on the Pacific coast.
The adult is 37–41 cm (15–16 in) in length with a wingspan of 91–105 cm (36–41 in) and a body mass of 305–525 g (10.8–18.5 oz). It has a white head and body, grey back, grey wings tipped solid black, black legs and a yellow bill. Occasional individuals have pinky-grey to reddish legs, inviting confusion with red-legged kittiwake.
The inside of their mouth is also a characteristic feature of the species due to its rich red colour. Such red pigmentation is due to carotenoids pigments and vitamin A which have to be acquired through their diet. Studies show that integument coloration is associated with male's reproductive success. Such hypothesis would explain the behavior of couples greeting each other by opening their mouth and flashing their bright mouth it to their partner while vocalizing.
As their Latin name suggests, they only possess three toes since their hind toe is either extremely reduced or completely absent.[7] The two subspecies being almost identical, R. tridactyla pollicaris is in general slightly larger than its counterpart R. tridactyle tridactyla. In winter, this species acquires a dark grey smudge behind the eye and a grey hind-neck collar. The bill also turns a dusky-olive color.[7]
Since kittiwakes winter at sea and rarely touch ground during this period, very little is known about their exact molting pattern.
The Kittiwake landed on the ship somewhere between Iceland and Greenland, before flying off again. It looked at me as though to ask to be left alone while it was resting.
La Casa del Alabado is a privately owned museum in an old Spanish-colonial residence located very near the Quito’s historic San Francisco Plaza. And when I say old, I don’t mean a hundred years or so. I mean truly antique. The house was built in 1671. The building itself is worthy of a visit even without its contents. Renovations have maintained the central structure which includes two interior courtyards, one in which tables and chairs await visitors. I easily spent time just enjoying the ever-changing clouds in the Andean sky. Exterior passageways on the second floor allow me to flow in and out of exhibits, giving the mind time to pause in between rooms.
Believe me, this is a place where a pause is necessary. Each room requires contemplation as your mind processes the beauty of each and every piece you see.
In the scheme of things, this building may be antique but its artifacts are ancient. We saw stunning pieces in amazing condition dating as far back as 4500 BCE, around the time the wheel was developed in Mesopotamia. Incredibly, this collection constantly surprises the visitor. Perhaps this is because the curators chose not to organize the collection by era or by time or even by culture. Instead, they found commonalities within each civilization and display those pieces side by side.
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Housed in an elegant colonial-era home, this privately owned museum with contemporary displays showcases an impressive collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. Thematically organized around subjects such as shamans, pigmentation and the afterlife, explanations in English and Spanish (audio guides are available) explore the indigenous beliefs represented by the finely crafted ceramic pieces and jewelry.
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The Casa del Alabado Museum has in its custody around 5000 archaeological objects belonging to ancient societies that occupied the territory known today as Ecuador. A finely honed selection of 500 pieces makes up the Museum's permanent exhibition, with both scientific and museological content, invites the public to discover the worldview of indigenous Americans and explore the aesthetic and technical excellence achieved by ancient artists as they worked an array of raw materials.
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I am museophiles, having visited some of the most interesting collections in the world. What makes the Casa del Alabado so interesting is that each piece harked back to another we had seen – many in San Francisco at the Asian Art Museum, others in Asian Art collections in Europe. Yes, the connections back to Asia are astounding. I saw figures reminiscent of Japanese Shogun Warriors and ancient Indian Yogis. We saw faces that could have come from ancient China or Japan. The connections were almost overwhelming.
Yet, at the same time, I saw pieces that were essentially Andean – tied into the ancient cosmology that we see repeated again and again in the artwork even today.
The unique stripes of zebras make them one of the animals most familiar to people. They occur in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains, and coastal hills.
Genetics determine the variety of stripes in zebras. While the specific processing of determining this striping pattern isn't known, it has something to do with selective pigmentation. Melanocyte skin cells produce the pigments that color the fur.
Certain chemical messengers regulate which melanocytes deliver their pigment to the zebra. Mathematical models haven't been able to accurately simulate the development of the pattern, but we do know that it takes place during the embryonic phase. #7DWF
Alors, aux soirs de lassitude
Tout en peuplant sa solitude
Des fantômes du souvenir
On pleure les lèvres absentes
De toutes ces belles passantes
Que l’on n’a pas su retenir
Another group of images from last Mondays visit to the Sheffield Botanical Gardens. This is Katianna nr schotti, this is also thought to be an imported species. They can be found in the same habitat as the Katianna 3 species, at the gardens they are very common on fallen leaves around the Ericaceae beds that surround the Rock and Water Garden. They are about the same size as Katianna 3 at up to 1mm long. They are generally orange and yellow in colour, but as they mature you do sometimes see other colours. There is also a very similar species called Katianna australis that has reddish pigmentation, but I have yet to find this.
Katianna nr schotti for some reason seem a more active species and they always seem to be on the go. Whereas, the Katianna 3 species does seem to be more cooperative and will stay still for a while :o)
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin in the western part of the park
The first records of the spring are from early European explorers and surveyors. In 1839, a group of fur trappers from the American Fur Company crossed the Midway Geyser Basin and made note of a "boiling lake", most likely the Grand Prismatic Spring, with a diameter of 90m. In 1870 the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition visited the spring, noting a 15m geyser nearby (later named Excelsior).
The spring was noted by geologists working in the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, and named by them for its striking colouration. Its colours match the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.
The vivid colours are the result of microbial mats around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The mats produce colours ranging from green to red; the amount of colour in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids and on the temperature gradient in the run-off. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green. The centre of the pool is sterile due to extreme heat.
The deep blue colour of the water in the centre of the pool results from the intrinsic blue colour of water. The effect is strongest in the centre because of its sterility and depth.
The spring is approximately 110m in diameter and 50m deep. It discharges an estimated 2,100 litres of 70°C water every minute.
The pancaking in the foreground brown area is the result of this patch drying out at times, leaving just the dark brown rivulets running across the lighter base. In the background, the hillside is recovering from a a major blaze.
Multi-coloured Cacti - Gymnocalycium mihanovichii ---Gymnocalycium mihanovichii, often called chin cactus, is a species of cactus from South America commonly grown as a houseplant. The most popular cultivars are varied mutants which completely lack chlorophyll, exposing the red, orange or yellow pigmentation. These cultivars are often called Moon Cactus, Ruby Ball, Red Cap Cactus, Red Hibotan or Hibotan.
(in explore)
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Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is a species of cactus from South America. The most popular cultivars are varied mutants which completely lack chlorophyll, exposing the yellow pigmentation. These mutant strains are often grafted onto the hylocereus cactus, and the combined plant is called a "Moon Cactus". Moon cacti are commonly grown as houseplants.
Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is found growing at lower elevations in Paraguay and northeast Argentina. The species was discovered there in 1903 by Czechoslovak botanist Alberto Vojtěch Frič (1882-1944).
The rest stop on the hike at Laguna Colorada, Bolivia.
Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile.
The lake contains borax islands, whose white color contrasts with the reddish color of its waters, which is caused by red sediments and pigmentation of some algae.
James's flamingos abound in the area. Also it is possible to find Andean and Chilean flamingos, but in a minor quantity.
---Wikipedia
The unusual white coloration in both Leucistic and Albino Alligators is due to rare genetic traits. The uncommon coloration comes from recessive genes.
Rare Leucistic Alligators are marked with patches of natural coloration and often have blue eyes. Albinos lack all natural coloration and eyes are usually pink. Other Albino abnormalities frequently include crossed jaws and curved spines. Unlike Albinos, Leucistic Alligators are usually healthy and strong.
Out of the roughly five million alligators that make up the American alligator population, there are thought to be only about 12 Leucistic Alligators (from 2009 data). Females may carry the leucistic gene, but not necessarily display it.
Lacking natural skin pigmentation for camouflage, white and Leucistic Alligators are vulnerable to many predators. In their natural habitat most do not survive into adulthood. They are also vulnerable to sunlight and may need vitamin D supplements in their diet.
I found this one at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.
Gatorland has the world’s largest collection of the extremely rare Leucistic Alligators. Only 12 are known to exist in the world, and four of them live at Gatorland.
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I have previously shown you a Leucistic Chaffinch that visited our garden (see first comment box). In March we were visited by this Leucistic Chaffinch, which I spotted through the study window and took a few photos. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of its back but the pale 'peachy' colour of the breast was even paler on the total wing and back plumage.
Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.
More common than a complete absence of pigment cells is localized or incomplete hypopigmentation, resulting in irregular patches of white on an animal that otherwise has normal colouring and patterning. This partial leucism is known as a "pied" or "piebald" effect; and the ratio of white to normal-coloured skin can vary considerably not only between generations, but between different offspring from the same parents, and even between members of the same litter. This is notable in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species.
Albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin, which gives color to the skin, feathers, hair and eyes. Vertebrates with albinism are not only white (or sometimes pale yellowish) in color but they also have very pale eyes, often pink or red in color as the blood vessels show through. Leucism, on the other hand, is a partial loss of pigmentation, which can make the animal have white or patchily colored skin, hair, feathers and so on, but the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected by the condition.
Leucisim is often mistaken for albinism, but they are two very different conditions. So next time you see an animal you think is albino, look to see if it is only mostly white and, importantly, take a look at the eyes.
Taken with my Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon Telephoto Zoom 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM EF Lens and framed in Photoshop.
Better viewed in light box - click on the image or press 'L' on your keyboard.
It is a gray squirrel with black pigmentation.
C'est un écureuil gris à pigmentation noire.
Sciurus carolinensis - Sciuridées
Usually gray, it can also have a peel brown, black or, more rarely, white or cinnamon.
The coat of the Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) may be of two colors, gray and black, bringing people to believe (mistakenly) that they are two distinct species. Black is often the dominant color in the northern range of the species in Ontario and Quebec. Further south, the black is less common, and there is no black squirrel in the southern United States. This suggests that the gene for black pigmentation reflected an adaptation to low temperatures. (Source : Wikipedia)
Généralement gris, il peut aussi avoir un pelage brun, noir ou, plus rarement, blanc ou cannelle. Le pelage de l'écureuil gris de l'Est (Sciurus carolinensis) peut être de deux couleurs, gris et noir, ce qui porte à croire (à tort) qu'il s'agit de deux espèces distinctes. Le noir est souvent la couleur dominante dans l'aire de répartition nord de l'espèce en Ontario et au Québec. Plus au sud, le noir est moins commun et il n'y a pas d'écureuil noir dans le sud des États-Unis. Cela suggère que le gène de la pigmentation noire reflétait une adaptation aux basses températures. (Source: Wikipédia)
Good morning everyone and I hope you had a nice weekend.
Featured for Butterfly Monday is the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). A medium size butterfly with a wing span of 1 5/8 - 2 3/4 inches (4.2 - 7 cm). It along with Pearl Crescents and Orange Sulphurs are normally the most common butterflies found here in the Midwest, but not this year. The Buckeye took a beating from this past severe winter and has remained noticeably scarce all season. I've seen more Buckeyes in a single day in past years than I have in all of 2014. Hopefully next year they'll make a comeback as summer just isn't the same without seeing large numbers of these pretty butterflies fluttering about on wildflowers when I'm out & about.
With that said, I'm pleased to present a series on a Buckeye with an unusually large amount of blue pigmentation. I've seen some Buckeyes before with blue coloring, but not to this extent. It might be the result of seasonal polyphenism, since the ones I have seen before were also always late in the season. Seasonal polyphenism, or better known as polyphenic pigmentation, is an adaption by insect species that undergo multiple matings each year. Different pigmentation patterns provide appropriate camouflage throughout the season, as well as altering heat retention as temperatures change.
As for these photos, there all of the same "blue" Buckeye and were taken last week at the reclaimed strip mine. The wildflower on which it is feeding is Heath Aster (Aster pilosus). I also included one photo of a Buckeye with typical coloring as a comparison. It's the first photo in the comment section.
Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you have a truly great day and week.
Lacey
ISO400, aperture f/11, exposure .003 seconds (1/320) focal length 300mm
Lotherton Hall
White peafowl are a variety of the India Blue Peacock. They are leucistic, a condition that affects the feathers and turns them pale or white. Leucism is different from albinism in that this variety of peafowl has blue tinted eyes, rather than no pigmentation in the eyes or feathers.
This one was sat in the shade at the entrance to the wildlife centre.
Thank you for your visit and your comments, they are greatly appreciated.
So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
Roger Waters
A male house finch with a color pigmentation variant due to diet. Too many sunflower seeds, I guess!
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus Megaptera.
The adult humpback whale is generally 14–15 m (46–49 ft), though longer lengths of 16–17 m (52–56 ft) have been recorded. Females are usually 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) longer than males.
The species can reach body masses of 40 metric tons (44 short tons). Calves are born at around 4.3 m (14 ft) long with a weight of 680 kg (1,500 lb).
The body is bulky with a thin rostrum and proportionally long flippers, each around one-third of its body length.[15][16] It has a short dorsal fin that varies from nearly non-existent to somewhat long and curved.
As a rorqual, the humpback has grooves between the tip of the lower jaw and the navel. They are relatively few in number in this species, ranging from 14–35. The mouth is lined with baleen plates, which number 270-400 for both sides.
Unique among large whales, humpbacks have bumps or tubercles on the head and front edge of the flippers; the tail fluke has a jagged trailing edge.
The tubercles on the head are 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick at the base and poke up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in). They are mostly hollow in the center, often containing at least one fragile hair that erupts 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) from the skin and is 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick. The tubercles develop early in the womb and may have a sensory function as they are rich in nerves.
The dorsal or upper-side of the animal is generally black; the ventral or underside has various levels of black and white coloration. Whales in the southern hemisphere tend to have more white pigmentation. The flippers can vary from all-white to white only on the undersurface.
The varying color patterns and scars on the tail flukes distinguish individual animals. The end of the genital slit of the female is marked by a round feature, known as the hemispherical lobe, which visually distinguishes males and females.
This image was taken at Honningsvag in Norway
One of four white Sika deer that has been seen at RSPB Arne in Dorset. There is also a white stag somewhere in the reserve. A beast of legend. As mentioned in the legends of King Arthur. Also in Harry Potter s well.
I was happy enough to spot one of the white hinds though.
The white hair is caused by a condition called leucism, a condition where there is a partial loss of pigmentation.
ENGLISH:
The Piedmontese cattle is one of the oldest cattle breeds that still exist today. The Piedmontese cattle originated from a cross between Zebu and aurochs.
Originally, this breed was a three-purpose breed. Nowadays cattle are mainly kept for meat production. The beef produces a high proportion of valuable meat in addition to little fat and bones. However, this characteristic is linked to a high rate of difficult births.
Piedmontese cattle are white-yellowish, with a gray mottle and darker pigmentation on the tips of the horns, eyes, ears, muzzle and tail tassel.
Size: Male: 130-140cm, female: 130-132cm
Weight: Male: 600-800 kg, females: 450-550 kg
ESPAÑOL:
El ganado piamontés es una de las razas de ganado más antiguas que aún existen en la actualidad. El ganado piamontés se originó a partir de un cruce entre cebú y uro.
Originalmente, esta raza era una raza de tres propósitos. Hoy en día el ganado se cría principalmente para la producción de carne. La carne vacuna produce una alta proporción de carne valiosa además de poca grasa y huesos. Sin embargo, esta característica está ligada a una alta tasa de partos difíciles.
El ganado piamontés es de color blanco amarillento, con un moteado gris y una pigmentación más oscura en las puntas de los cuernos, ojos, orejas, hocico y borla de la cola.
Altura: Machos: 130-140 cm, hembras: 130-132 cm
Peso: Machos: 600–800 kg, hembras: 450–550 kg
DEUTSCH:
Das Piemonteser Rind ist eine der ältesten Rinderrassen, die heute noch existieren. Das Piemonteser Rind entstand aus einer Kreuzung von Zebu und Auerochse.
Ursprünglich war diese Rasse eine Dreinutzungsrasse. Heutzutage werden die Rinder hauptsächlich zur Fleischgewinnung gehalten. Das Rind produziert einen hohen Anteil an wertvollem Fleisch neben wenig Fett und Knochen. Diese Eigenschaft ist allerdings mit einer hohen Schwergeburtenrate verknüpft.
Das Piemonteser Rind ist weiß-gelblich, mit grauer Melierung und dunkler Pigmentierung von Hörnerspitzen, Augen, Ohren, Fotzmaul und der Schwanzquaste.
Größe: Männchen: 130-140 cm, Weibchen: 130-132 cm
Gewicht: Männchen: 600–800 kg, Weibchen: 450–550 kg
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More 1/87 cattle or models and dioramas in
Queen Anne's Lace is better known for its flowers, but the feathery foliage is delicately pretty. Here it is beginning to recognize autumn.
Fun fact: Getting the plant's sap on the skin, followed by sunlight exposure, can produce phytophotodermatitis, a red rash that typically appears the following day and resolves slowly, often leaving behind brown pigmentation that is very slow to fade Several related plants contain similar chemicals, with the same effect.
The plant is imported and invasive, but has naturalized throughout the United States.
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) south side of Michaelbrook Marsh, Kelowna, BC.
This part of achieving flight, starts with those running cleats on his feet!
Also, this fella, based on the white flecks in his neck plumage, is said to be partially leucistic. According to Wikipedia, leucism is "...a wide variety of conditions that result in partial loss of pigmentation in an animal—causing white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales, or cuticles, but not the eyes. It is occasionally spelled leukism...."
For more on the phenomenon of leucism, click this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism
just in time for Halloween!!
As I was walking along the path along the trail next to the Bunker Pond down near the lighthouse in Cape May, I came across a bunch of very active yellow rumps flitting back and forth in the bushes, and stood for about 15 minutes trying to get some pictures of these fast, elusive little birds.
Wasn't long before I noticed this guy in the mix....he was a real "stand out"!
A leucistic Yellow-rumped Warbler!
Very cool to see!
(Leucism: A partial loss of pigmentation in a human or other animal, resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, fur, or feathers but not the eyes.)
Cliffside Lane, The Ridge, Fair Oaks / Sacramento County, California
This skipper appears to have lost some of its pigmentation, a process called leucism, which I've never seen in butterflies before.
Update on this skipper image. I posted this same image in Only Butterflies! and Brian Orion, a member of the group feels that this is a faded Eufala Skipper and now that I re-looked at the image I have to agree as there are several markings on the ventral forewing that matches the Eufala Skipper.
Info from Wikipedia... About spalted wood, which Bob is working with at the moment....(please see previous pic to see Bob, the skilled woodworker)
"Spalting in hardwoods is divided into three main types: pigmentation, white rot and zone lines. Spalted wood may exhibit one or all of these types in varying degrees. Softwoods are susceptible to brown rot which degrades the wood too quickly to be used for woodworking.
Pigmentation
Also known as sapstain, or in its most common form, bluestain, this type of spalting occurs when the darkly-pigmented fungal hyphae grow in the sapwood parenchyma of a tree.
A visible color change can be seen if enough hyphae are concentrated in an area.
These pigmentation fungi often colonize wood via the rays, but are not considered decay fungi due to their non-destructive use of easily available wood carbohydrates.The most common groups of pigmentation fungi are the imperfect fungi and the Ascomycetes.Mold fungi, such as Trichoderma spp., are not considered to be spalting fungi, as their hyphae do not colonize the wood internally.
While pigmentation fungi do not degrade the wood cell wall, this type of decay can lead to a reduction in toughness (amount of energy absorbed before breaking), and increased permeabilityPigmentation can occur on both hardwood and softwood, unlike other types of spalting which are more host specific."
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This is the last image from March, when we were visited by this Leucistic Chaffinch, which I spotted through the study window and took a few photos. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of its back but the pale 'peachy' colour of the breast was even paler on the total wing and back plumage.
Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.
More common than a complete absence of pigment cells is localized or incomplete hypopigmentation, resulting in irregular patches of white on an animal that otherwise has normal colouring and patterning. This partial leucism is known as a "pied" or "piebald" effect; and the ratio of white to normal-coloured skin can vary considerably not only between generations, but between different offspring from the same parents, and even between members of the same litter. This is notable in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species.
Albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin, which gives color to the skin, feathers, hair and eyes. Vertebrates with albinism are not only white (or sometimes pale yellowish) in color but they also have very pale eyes, often pink or red in color as the blood vessels show through. Leucism, on the other hand, is a partial loss of pigmentation, which can make the animal have white or patchily colored skin, hair, feathers and so on, but the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected by the condition.
Leucisim is often mistaken for albinism, but they are two very different conditions. So next time you see an animal you think is albino, look to see if it is only mostly white and, importantly, take a look at the eyes.
Taken with my Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon Telephoto Zoom 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM EF Lens and framed in Photoshop.
Better viewed in light box - click on the image or press 'L' on your keyboard.
Peacock feather. Peacocks are known for their bright colors. However, when their feathers are wet they appear brown which indicates that the bright colors aren’t a result of pigmentation. Something else is going on! Peacocks achieve its stunning plumage display through structural coloration, more commonly known as iridescence. Structural coloration results from a lightwave interaction with the surface. The light can be reflected, refracted, or sometimes both, and the effect is angle dependent. Depending on the angle and the wavelength, lightwaves may constructively or destructively interfere with each other resulting in different colors and brightness.
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Another image from March, when we were visited by this Leucistic Chaffinch, which I spotted through the study window and took a few photos. Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of its back but the pale 'peachy' colour of the breast was even paler on the total wing and back plumage.
Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.
More common than a complete absence of pigment cells is localized or incomplete hypopigmentation, resulting in irregular patches of white on an animal that otherwise has normal colouring and patterning. This partial leucism is known as a "pied" or "piebald" effect; and the ratio of white to normal-coloured skin can vary considerably not only between generations, but between different offspring from the same parents, and even between members of the same litter. This is notable in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species.
Albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin, which gives color to the skin, feathers, hair and eyes. Vertebrates with albinism are not only white (or sometimes pale yellowish) in color but they also have very pale eyes, often pink or red in color as the blood vessels show through. Leucism, on the other hand, is a partial loss of pigmentation, which can make the animal have white or patchily colored skin, hair, feathers and so on, but the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected by the condition.
Leucisim is often mistaken for albinism, but they are two very different conditions. So next time you see an animal you think is albino, look to see if it is only mostly white and, importantly, take a look at the eyes.
Taken with my Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon Telephoto Zoom 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM EF Lens and framed in Photoshop.
Better viewed in light box - click on the image or press 'L' on your keyboard.
A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay breed is exclusively black. All-black fur pigmentation is slightly more prevalent in male cats than female cats. Their high melanin pigment content causes most black cats to have yellow (golden) eyes (irises).
Visitor reception center.
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Orongo, the ceremonial village with its 53 houses made of slabs of basalt. Orongo, which in the Rapanui language means “The Called One”, is perched majestically on a narrow strip of rim along some 250 meters (820 feet) of the southern side of Rano Kau, over a cliff that drops abruptly 300 meters (985 feet) into the Pacific Ocean. At no time in its history did Orongo serve as a permanent settlement, due to its difficult access and its lack of direct access to the sea. Its importance came from the cult of Tangata Manu (Bird-Man) that developed at the end of the 17th Century and continued into the 19th Century. Prior to that, during the period of the moai (statues) and the cult of the ancestors, Orongo was a place where rites of initiation into adulthood were held for boys and girls.
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According to recent studies, around 1350 Rapa Nui suffered a profound climate change (the Little Ice Age) that was characterized by an increase in the frequency of the El Nino current in the region. Overpopulation and a scarcity of resources led to a loss of faith in the cult of the ancestors. The matato’a, the warrior caste, seized the power giving rise to a new order where authority was now to be determined by physical prowess and no longer by lineage and rank. To establish their order, they organized the Bird-Man competition in which representatives of each tribe would meet in the month of September each year when the manutara, or Easter Island tern, would nest on these shores.
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Captured this portrait with one RAW shot. Processed RAW file in Photoshop CS6. Curve adjustment to increase the overall contrast. 1 layer mask in soft light mode at 50% gray, using brush tool to lighten and darken some areas of the image, to bring out details. Topaz DeNoise to reduce noise. Nik Silver Efex Pro to convert to black and white.
White Bengal Tiger in Black and White Portrait. Have a great weekend everyone!
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