Violet Turaco

[guppiecat]

I have a theory that these birds would shine brightly when viewed in the UV spectrum. So I got a UV camera and special lens to find out.

Turns out all the zoos keep them indoors, carefully shielded from all UV light.

Originally posted at stories.starmind.org.

Comments

[quadong]

Huh. Wait. That seems like it would be unhealthy if the birds see in UV. Like when we use light bulbs with no blue component.

Are they (also) often behind glass that blocks UV?

[guppiecat]

Yes, the glass blocks UV.

Part of the challenge is that much of the literature appears to conflate UV reflection and UV florescence. (I presume because it is a LOT easier for the average field biologist to detect the latter.)

I am not sure how much the birds biologically need the UV in the way that humans need the blue component. I would suspect that there could be issues with feeding chicks, as what we currently know about UV reflection appears to match with beak spotting.

My theory is that some birds might have UV breeding patterns. If that is the case, then lack of UV would impact breeding. It may not, however, be a critical factor.