{"id":12128,"date":"2025-03-11T15:42:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T15:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/orange-alert-what-caused-the-colors-on-this-snowy-owl\/"},"modified":"2025-03-11T15:42:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T15:42:35","slug":"orange-alert-what-caused-the-colors-on-this-snowy-owl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/orange-alert-what-caused-the-colors-on-this-snowy-owl\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange Alert: What Caused the Colors on This Snowy Owl?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bill Diller, a photographer living in Huron County, Mich., had never seen a snowy owl quite like this.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In January, Mr. Diller\u2019s neighbor told him about a \u201cred-spotted snowy owl\u201d in the area. It\u2019s a part of Michigan known as \u201cthe Thumb,\u201d which becomes home to many snowy owls in the winter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">People were calling the bird \u201cRusty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI had never heard of such a thing,\u201d Mr. Diller said, \u201cso I figured either he didn\u2019t know what he was talking about or this was some kind of exotic bird from Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When he soon shared pictures on Facebook of the eye-catchingly orange bird perched atop a utility pole, he helped create a feathered phenomenon. The discovery has perplexed avian experts, too, creating an enduring mystery about what might have made a white bird turn bright orange.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/exposingnaturethroughmylens\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Julie Maggert<\/a>, a snowy owl enthusiast, heard of Mr. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.michigansthumb.com\/news\/article\/reddish-snowy-owl-huron-county-20165673.php\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Diller\u2019s sighting<\/a> and became determined to see \u201cCreamsicle,\u201d as she affectionately nicknamed the bird.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She made a series of visits over several days from her home in Central Michigan with her Nikon Z8 and a zoom lens. After hours of waiting at a respectful distance, she finally got the perfect shot of the tinted bird on a telephone pole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMy adrenaline was going crazy, I was so excited!\u201d Mrs. Maggert said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her pictures helped make the case undeniable: The bird shared a color scheme with the planet Jupiter or a clownfish. But why?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scientists who have studied owls for years struggled to explain the bird\u2019s curious plumage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIn over 35 years of study, we have found over 300 nests and banded over 800 chicks,\u201d Denver Holt, director of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/05\/24\/science\/24owl.html\" title=\"\">Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Mont.<\/a>, said in an email. \u201cWe have never seen any plumage aberration, or anything like what is in the photos of the owl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kevin McGraw, a bird coloration expert and biologist at Michigan State University, shared <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/environment\/2025\/02\/rusty-colored-michigan-snowy-owl-turning-heads-likely-a-genetic-mutation.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a surprising hypothesis<\/a>: The owl became orange as a result of a genetic mutation driven by environmental stress, such as exposure to pollution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. McGraw said in an email interview that samples from the bird were needed to test that and other hypotheses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019d need to get feathers from this bird to understand the nature of the unique coloring,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Geoffrey Hill, an ornithologist at Auburn University and a co-author with Dr. McGraw of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hup.harvard.edu\/books\/9780674021761\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a book about bird coloration<\/a>, shared his interpretation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt seems unlikely that it has spontaneously produced red pigmentation via a genetic mutation,\u201d Dr. Hill said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said \u201cthe red coloration seems too red to be caused by\u201d natural pigmentation. He added that \u201cthe pigmentation is not very symmetrical and appears on the parts of a normal snowy owl that are white.\u201d He surmised that if the bird had a mutation, it would have changed the owl\u2019s black patterns, or eumelanin, to orange, or pheomelanin. That is not how the bird was currently colored.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He believed it looked more consistent with the external application of a dye.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scott Weidensaul, a co-founder of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Project SNOWstorm<\/a>, a volunteer snowy owl research group, also dismissed the mutation hypothesis. Additionally, his organization <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/posts\/no-were-not-dyeing-owls-red\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ruled out<\/a> that the bird had been marked with dye from the United States Geological Survey\u2019s Bird Banding Laboratory, which studies avian movements. It had been standard practice in the 1960s, before the advent of GPS transmitters, for snowy owl researchers to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/posts\/on-the-shoulders-of-giants\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">use spray paint<\/a> to study migratory patterns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Weidensaul offered his own suspicions about the bird\u2019s hue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe most likely explanation is that it was de-icing fluid at an airport, since some formulations are that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/aircrafticing.grc.nasa.gov\/2_3_3_1.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">red-orange color<\/a>,\u201d he wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The closest airport to where the bird had been spotted, Huron County Memorial Airport, did not reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mrs. Maggert, who saw Rusty or Creamsicle with her own eyes, is skeptical that the owl became orange through accidental contact with a dye or spray paint.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe way that it\u2019s on its body, I don\u2019t know how it could just accidentally rub up against paint all up on the front of her face and head and back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unless someone comes forward and admits to pigmenting the snowy owl, there will be no effort to study the bird up close, and its rusty appearance is likely to remain a mystery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Karen Cleveland, a wildlife biologist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said that the state had been aware of the bird since mid-January. While the owl appears \u201chealthy and well,\u201d the state agency hasn\u2019t publicized its presence to limit snowy owl chasers from potentially stressing the bird.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe department has no plans to try to capture it for any reason,\u201d Ms. Cleveland said, \u201cso we\u2019re unlikely to ever have a conclusive explanation for this coloring.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/11\/science\/snowy-owl-orange-michigan-rusty.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bill Diller, a photographer living in Huron County, Mich., had never seen a snowy owl quite like this. In January,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[2946,1957,3984,1757,3983,901,3982,841,1130,188],"class_list":["post-12128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-birdwatching","tag-color","tag-dyes-and-dyestuffs","tag-genetics-and-heredity","tag-lake-huron","tag-michigan","tag-owls","tag-photography","tag-pollution","tag-your-feed-science"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Orange Alert: What Caused the Colors on This Snowy Owl? - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/orange-alert-what-caused-the-colors-on-this-snowy-owl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Orange Alert: What Caused the Colors on This Snowy Owl? - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bill Diller, a photographer living in Huron County, Mich., had never seen a snowy owl quite like this. 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