Rosella observation and fertility of hybrids

[Luke Downey via Canberrabirds <>]

I think that the following articles might be of interest to those who were discussing the reproductive possibility of hybrids. I believe that most (maybe all) bird hybrids can reproduce. The two articles I have attached have shown how 2 species have formed as a result of hybrid birds breeding together to form a new species.

http://www.sci-news.com/biology/golden-crowned-manakin-hybrid-bird-05575.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/evolution-kite-finches-1.4421594

On Tue, 31 Aug 2021 at 15:35, Philip Veerman <> wrote:

About Nick's question. I hope I am at least mostly correct in this. The situation might be a bit different between mammals and birds. Mammals generally have in the vicinity of 20 to 30 pairs of chromosomes. Birds usually have approximately 80 chromosomes, with only a few being distinguishable macrochromosomes and an average of 60 being microchromosomes. They are more abundant in birds than any other group of animals.

It is in the failure of not fully matched pairs of chromosomes to pair up when the meiosis cell division occurs e.g. in a horse and donkey parent chromosomes that makes the mule infertile. Plus of course all sorts of possible behavioural issues. Birds, with many more chromosomes than mammals might have different hybrid fertility issues. Maybe whilst the mechanics and processes will be the same, maybe the much greater number of chromosomes make it more complicated and variable for birds. Or just different or maybe less complicated. Thinking about it, hybridisation occurs easily in so many birds in captivity, and there are many clear hybrid communities in various birds. A quick search did not give me any insights about this. The complexity in the question is the extent to which hybrids are fertile and there are sure to be many different answers.

Philip

-----Original Message-----
From: Canberrabirds [ On Behalf Of Nick Payne via Canberrabirds
Sent: Monday, 30 August, 2021 4:44 PM
To:
Subject: Rosella observation

Yes, Crimson/Eastern Rosella hybrids are seen around here every so often. Here's a photo I took about ten years ago near the Yarralumla Nursery, of a Crimson/Eastern Rosella hybrid with a Crimson Rosella.

Does anyone know if the hybrids can reproduce, or are they the avian equivalent of mules?

Nick Payne


--
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra Ornithologists Group.
Emails posted to the list that exceed 2 MB (2,000 kB) in size, including attachments, will be rejected.
All emails distributed via the list are archived at http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds. It is a condition of list membership that you agree to your contributions being archived.

Canberrabirds mailing list

https://lists.canberrabirds.org.au/mailman/listinfo/canberrabirds

ATT00001.txt
Description: ATT00001.txt