Image: Richard Ashurst/Flickr
Biologists in New Zealand find the threatened bellbird is transgender.
Recently, at Zealandia eco-sanctuary in New Zealand, biologists were surprised to discover that one of their newest animal arrivals seemed genetically predisposed to shunning those normally cut and dry distinctions of sexual dimorphism. Routine DNA testing on a young bellbird hatched there 18 months ago indicated that it was female, but as it grew things became clearly more complicated than that.
Instead of only growing the white feather pattern found in female bellbirds, this individual showed distinct signs of a male’s dark plumage as well. Even the bird’s behavior seemed indicative of male bird traits, such as in vocalizing in distinctively masculine calls and acting uncharacteristically territorial, leading biologists to declare the bird ‘transgender’. -Â Treehugger
Take that all those who say ‘it isn’t natural’! Science proves you wrong again. Ka-pow!
Um. Wow!
Wonderful discovery. I’m a birder, so this is delightful to read, but really not surprising.
Birder. I like that! Lol.
Don’t confuse that with Birther, please.
But seriously, the term has been around for a long time, and is usually preferred to bird watcher, which these days is associated more with bird houses in the back yard, whereas birder implies going out into the habitats to observe birds where they live. 
sonofwalt you should visit Borneo Island, especially Kinabalu Park..birders from around the world go there just for the unique endemic species of birds.. the endemic Whitehead’s Trogon, endemic Mountain Barbet and the beautiful Kinabalu (Mountain Blue-Winged) Leafbird can be spotted just google it and you’ll know
Reblogged this on theadventuresoftransman and commented:
Nature responds to the “What you’re doing ain’t natural” argument.
Very cool. Reblogging this on http://theadventuresoftransman.com/
Thanks!
Yes, we are honored!
Reblogged this on Zander's Blog.
Thanks so much!
Interesting, they should’ve checked its DNA again if it indeed really became a male.
Nature evrywhere declares the message of diversity. Witness the changing of the leaves in Colorado around this time. It “screams” that truth. Just like the breathtaking display one witnesses, as one become trans-fixed (no pun intended) on the matchless spectacle before you, so too, is life all the more precious and rich, when the diversity of humankind becomes as one. N’uf said.
Beautifully put. Thanks.
See it is natural.