Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week NEWTON Teachers Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Referencing NEWTON Frequently Asked Questions About Ask A Scientist About NEWTON Education At Argonne Bird Sex Change 

Name: Mostafa
Status: other
Grade: other
Location: Outside U.S.
Country: Egypt
Date: Winter 2012-2913
Question:
What is the scientific basis of changing gender in birds? Is there any hypothesis to be constructed for studying this phenomena? We have recorded some observations of pheasants changing plumage color of females to males.


Replies:
Hi Mostafa,

Thanks for the question. Ultimately, the scientific basis for changing of gender in birds would be a change in gene expression. However, I cannot think of an example of sex changing occur in "real-life." If you know of one, please let me know.

I would be hesitant to assume that a change in plumage color is indicative of a change in sex (or gender). There may be environmental factors (such as temperature or food supply) that would trigger a change in plum color. For instance, mating is inhibited if there is a lack of food supplies. If mating is inhibited, one would expect that the other aspects of courtship (such as plumage color) would also be altered.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks Jeff

Mostafa

From this web site:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_a_chicken_change_its_gender

Due to an ovarian change that affects the balance of hormones in chickens and other birds, it is very rarely possible for a female bird to adopt male secondary sex characteristics (feathers, combs, and even crowing in a hen turned rooster). However, this is not a true sex change because the bird cannot fertilize eggs. On large farms of 10,000 or more hens, this has been definitively observed. There are some animals that actually change sexes, but the chicken isn't one of them.

Sincere regards, Mike Stewart

Click here to return to the Zoology Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 223
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: November 2011
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory