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Turacin is a naturally occurring red pigment that is 6% copper complexed to Online Medical Dictionary
/ref> Other birds derive their red coloration from
Turacin is a naturally occurring red pigment that is 6% copper complexed to uroporphyrin
Porphyrins ( ) are a group of heterocyclic macrocycle organic compounds, composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at their α carbon atoms via methine bridges (=CH−). The parent of porphyrin is porphine, a rare chemical compo ...
III. Arthur Herbert Church discovered turacin in 1869.
It is found only in the bird family Musophagidae, the turacos./ref> Other birds derive their red coloration from
carotenoid
Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic compound, organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and Fungus, fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpki ...
s (bright and orange-reds) or phaeomelanins (rusty and brownish-reds).
It is often assumed that this coloration will wash out when the birds are bathing or after heavy rains, but this is true only if the water used for bathing happens to be very alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
.
See also
*Psittacofulvin
Psittacofulvin pigments, sometimes called psittacins are responsible for the bright-red, orange, and yellow colours specific to parrots. In parrots, psittacofulvins are synthesized by a polyketide synthase enzyme that is expressed in growing feath ...
, a brightly colored red and yellow pigment unique to parrots
* Turacoverdin
Turacoverdin is a unique copper uroporphyrin pigment responsible for the bright green coloration of several birds of the family Musophagidae, most notably the turaco. It is chemically related to turacin, a red pigment also found almost exclusively ...
, green pigment unique to turacos
References
Biological pigments {{ornithology-stub