“Melanin Pigmentation in Finches pt 1 – Function, production and exploring the colours produced”
Speaker: Terry Martin
Venue: Hall, corner Thynne Road and Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Date: 1 December 2023.
Time: 6:30pm for 7:30pm start.
Or Zoom: link to be emailed to QFS members.
Terry Martin is a practising vet in Brisbane and is well known in Zebra Finch circles as one of the initiators of the National Zebra Finch Show, of Zebra Finch standards and as keen student of colour and how it is produced.
Earlier in the year Terry gave a short talk on Carotenoid pigments and how they impact colour in finches. In his talk he will focus on Melanin pigmentation and will introduce us to how Finches have been able to take a pigment that is black in its most common natural state and use it to produce an enormous array of subtle colours. He will also highlight how sometimes similar colours in different species can be produced in different ways!
The talk will give the breeder the important basic knowledge that is critical to then delve into understanding colour mutations which will be the topic of a future talk – Melanin Pigmentation in Finches – Part 2 – Colour mutations and their genetic control (sometime in 2024). Don’t miss Part 1.
