Published recently in the journal Genome Research, the work is part of an effort using genes to explore a broad range of fields, from evolution to behavior to ecology. So far, most genetic work is focusing on model species, animals like mice, fruit flies, worms and humans studied by so many researchers that nearly complete genomes can be sequenced. The model species for birds has been the chicken, which promises a direct financial payoff should gene research lead to a meatier or faster-laying bird. The genes of songbirds, while constituting more than half the bird species, have hardly been explored. But to Hess and Edwards, work on songbirds offers a chance to learn about the role genes play in animal behavior and evolution.
Birds are no exception.
It was once found only in the western United States, but after being released on New York's Long Island in the 1940s, it spread to cover nearly all the eastern United States. As males get sick, they have trouble producing a bright red plumage. Meanwhile, females deliberately choose the brightest, reddest males. For sick male house finches, this is bad news. So it's rough.