Winged

Thank you for asking this! I had never heard about this and I did wash this bird and didn’t notice any pigment bleeding but it lead me down a fascinating rabbit hole.

For those (like me) who were unaware, it turns out that not only do Turacos have their own special green pigment (turacoverdin) their red feathers are also a unique copper based pigment (turacin). Though I didn’t find articles mentioning the green being soluble (though maybe I missed them! More research required!), I did find multiple articles describing turacin being soluble.

That being said, there seems to be some disagreement about exactly how soluble it is. Some claim it’s soluble in pure water, others in alkaline water. And it seems like you probably wouldn’t notice a difference in the feathers unless you let it soak for a VERY long time.

This was my first turaco and I did wash them with soap (so alkaline), and didn’t notice it at the time. I wish I had known! I might have tried experimenting more. Ah well… next turaco I suppose.

Article screenshot with semi random highlights of interesting lines

Wildlife in North Carolina, May 1971. Illustration by Duane Raver Jr.

Alfred Joseph Casson (Canadian, 1898 - 1992) Green Winged Teal, circa 1930. Colour silkscreen on paper.

Prep No.KHE118

Red-crested Turaco

Tauraco erythrolophus

Since nobody gave the full latin name 🙄 here it is : she is called Pernis apivorus or Falco apivorus.

The European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is a species of diurnal bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae. This protected, insectivorous, and migratory species is present only during the summer in Europe, constituting more than 75% of its total nesting area. The European Honey Buzzard is a long-distance diurnal migrant. This is partly due to her diet: she goes where her prey is. She lives in Europe during the summer and in Africa during the winter, south of the Sahara.

The species Pernis apivorus has been divided into two distinct species:

Pernis apivorus (European Honey Buzzard)

Pernis ptilorhynchus (Eastern Honey Buzzard, or Helmeted Honey Buzzard, or Crested Honey Buzzard)

2) If you are going to be an ass you could at least try being correct.

-I didn't include the "full latin name" because this is about the genus Pernis. There are multiple species in the image.

-Falco apivorus is long depreciated. Like, genus Pernis was described in 1816 depreciated. Falco is in order Falconiformes, which Accipitriformes(which includes Pernis) was seperated from. They are now in a completely different order than Falco

We all enjoy these nice rainy spring days. Here's Schwarzy having massive enjoyment.

Part 2

More Crab bits follow and then finally another Guillemot this time whole, albiet legless.

They stopped in Mochdre and found a crispy Frog. And moseyed on down to Colwyn Bay to find this impressive Jellyfish and an awe inspiring Gannet.

Back at Kinmel Bay on Monday there was a very fresh Jellyfish and a Herring Gull(?) it again had no legs.

Never, in all the years we've been going to Wales have we ever had such good luck beachcombing. Now these are just all the ones we left behind!