Discovery of a hybrid bird of three species

The researchers discovered an unusual type of bird in Pennsylvania. The bird is the offspring of a hybrid mother and a warbler father of a totally different kind. The combination resulted in a hybrid bird of three species, which has never been recorded before.

"It's extremely rare," said lead author David Toews of Cornell University. "The female is a hybrid Golden-winged / Blue-winged Warbler – also known as the Brewster's Warbler. She then mated with a Brown-sided Warbler and successfully bred it. "

A hybrid species is formed when two distinct species cross to produce a hybrid population. Although hybridization is common in the Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warbler, a cross between these species and the Brown-breasted Warbler is extremely rare. In fact, it's something we never really know.

In May 2018, an amateur birdwatcher from Pennsylvania noticed a peculiarity in this unique hybrid bird. He found a male bird singing like a Brown-breasted Warbler. Surprisingly, it also exhibited some of the physical characteristics of the Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warbler. The bird was so different that he immediately understood that it belonged to no known species. Lowell Burket contacted Cornell researchers to confirm his intuition.

"I tried to give the email a somewhat intellectual note so that they did not think I was a crackpot," Burket said. "The photos and the video helped.In a week, the researcher David Toews came down.We found the bird and took a blood sample and took action.It was a very interesting morning and exciting for us.A few days later, I received an SMS from Dave saying: "You were right !!!"

Genetic analyzes have revealed that the breeding of two distinct parent species has given rise to this all-new line of hybrid triple warblers.

"We looked at the genes that code for different colors of warbler," Toews explained. "In this way, we could recreate the appearance of the mother of the hybrid: the avian equivalent of a facial composite for detective, but generated from genes.We have confirmed that the mother would have looked like a Brewster's Warbler and her father was a Brown-faced Warbler. "

This type of single hybridization is probably due to a decrease in warbler populations. For example, the Golden-winged Warbler is hunted excessively. The listing of this species on the list of endangered species has been proposed. Because of their decline, these birds have a limited choice of options.

"The fact that this hybridization occurred within a population in significant decline of the Golden-winged Warbler suggests that females are making the most of a bad situation," said Toews. "It also tells us that wood warblers in general have remained genetically compatible long after they have evolved significantly in appearance."