{"id":35460,"date":"2018-06-06T08:58:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T12:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=35460"},"modified":"2020-09-30T14:25:30","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T18:25:30","slug":"flickers-the-closer-you-look-the-less-different-they-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/flickers-the-closer-you-look-the-less-different-they-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Flickers: The Closer You Look, The Less Different They Are"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n              <figure class=\"size-large alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/NFlickers2-yellow_McMullen-red_Steckel-1280x635.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/NFlickers2-yellow_McMullen-red_Steckel-720x357.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/NFlickers2-yellow_McMullen-red_Steckel-768x381.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/NFlickers2-yellow_McMullen-red_Steckel-1280x635.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/NFlickers2-yellow_McMullen-red_Steckel-480x238.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/NFlickers2-yellow_McMullen-red_Steckel.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" alt=\"Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted Flicker woodpeckers\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption><em>Two kinds of Northern Flicker: &#8220;Red-shafted&#8221; of western North America by <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/rbPJRF\">Todd Steckel<\/a>; &#8220;Yellow-shafted&#8221; of eastern North America by <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/TCGqXb\">Bill McMullen<\/a>, via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/groups\/birdshare\">Birdshare<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure>\n            <\/div>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p3\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">For birders, one of the many small delights of traveling cross-country is that moment when the flickers change. These pretty and common woodpeckers flash bright colors in their wings and tail\u2014salmon-red in western North America and lemon-yellow in the East.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" id=\"hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3.png\"  alt=\"New self-paced course: Learn How to Identify Bird Songs, Click to Learn More\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(95627, 'a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3', {}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<!--<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" id=\"hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">-->\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <!--<a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd.png\"  alt=\"Join the Cornell Lab\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>-->\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p3\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">It&#8217;s such a noticeable difference that for decades the two were regarded as separate species, Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted Flickers. But in 1982, the two forms were officially lumped and considered a single species, the Northern Flicker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p4\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s2\">In the years since, scientists have wondered whether a closer look at the two birds&#8217; genomes might reveal differences too small to have been detected with earlier technology. Now, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bioone.org\/doi\/full\/10.1642\/AUK-18-7.1\">new study published this week<\/a> in\u00a0<em>Auk: Ornithological Advances,<\/em>\u00a0by Stepfanie Aguillon and colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, presents an answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-list list-style alignright\"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">Physically Different, Genetically the Same<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-genome-background.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-genome-background.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-genome-background-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-genome-background-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">What&#8217;s in a Name? How Genome Mapping Can Make It Harder\u00a0to Tell Species Apart<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/WingedWarblers-FI.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/WingedWarblers-FI.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/WingedWarblers-FI-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/WingedWarblers-FI-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"New research from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology\u2019s Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program shows that the genetic differences between Goldenwinged and Blue-winged Warblers are found in just six regions (or .03 percent) of their entire genomes. One of those regions contains genes that control throat coloration. Illustrations by Liz Clayton Fuller, Bartels Science Illustration Intern.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers Are 99.97 Percent Alike Genetically<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-Seedeaters.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-Seedeaters.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-Seedeaters-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/FI-Seedeaters-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"page: illustration by Virginia Greene, Bartels Science Illustration Intern\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">How Can 9 Species Look So Different Yet Be Genetically Almost Identical?<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/CommonHoaryRedpoll-banner.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/CommonHoaryRedpoll-banner-720x315.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/CommonHoaryRedpoll-banner-768x336.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/CommonHoaryRedpoll-banner-480x210.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/CommonHoaryRedpoll-banner.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">From Many, One: How Many Species of Redpolls Are There?<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p4\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s2\">The original studies of the 1980s compared the flickers&#8217; DNA using protein molecules as a proxy, and they were unable to discover any differences between the two forms at all. In the new study, Aguillon and her collaborators directly compared more than 16,000 DNA locations, and for the first time found clear evidence of genetic differences between Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted forms. At the same time, those differences were very small, indicating that the two lineages diverged only recently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p3\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">As with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/mixed-wing-warblers-golden-wings-and-blue-wings-are-99-97-percent-alike-genetically\/\">Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers<\/a>, the flickers are an example of two forms that physically look very different but genetically are nearly identical.<span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p7\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">&#8220;I find Northern Flickers to be really interesting\u00a0because up until this point, we couldn&#8217;t find any differences at all, even though the two forms look so different.&#8221; Aguillon says. &#8220;Now that we have these results, it seems likely that only a few small parts of their genomes differ\u2014the ones that are related to their plumage differences.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p7\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">But by the same token, Aguillon says, those small differences shouldn&#8217;t be interpreted as confirmation that the two forms are a single species. That decision would be better answered through studies of ecology, mating behavior, and hybridization than by a simple tabulation of genetic differences, she says.<span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p9\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">Nevertheless, the study showcases today&#8217;s exquisitely sensitive genetic sequencing tools\u2014enabling Aguillon to see the slightest of differences between two close relatives, and to begin to reconstruct the evolutionary pathways that brought them into being.<span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group well-gray has-lightgray-background-color has-background\">\n<h4 class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p3\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">Reference<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-p3\"><span class=\"m_-843817075585533516gmail-s1\">Aguillon, S. M., L. Campagna, R. G. Harrison, and I. J. Lovette. 2018. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bioone.org\/doi\/full\/10.1642\/AUK-18-7.1\">A flicker of hope: genomic data distinguish Northern Flicker taxa despite low levels of divergence<\/a>. Auk 135:738\u2013756 doi: 10.1642\/AUK-18-7.1.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For birders, one of the many small delights of traveling cross-country is that moment when the flickers change. These pretty and common woodpeckers flash bright colors in their wings and<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/flickers-the-closer-you-look-the-less-different-they-are\/\" title=\"ReadFlickers: The Closer You Look, The Less Different They Are\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[1067],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-35460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","content-format-article","cornell-lab-project-evolutionary-biology"],"metadata":{"associated-posts":[""],"wpa_off":[""],"_edit_lock":["1601490310:1"],"_edit_last":["1"],"wdsi_message_id":[""],"wdsi_do_not_show":[""],"_wds_meta-robots-adv":[","],"custom-byline":["<h5>By 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