Natural History Wanderings

Technology Networks reported

The species is even more evolutionarily distinct than the dodo was, according to DNA analysis.

On first inspection, the Cuban blue-headed quail dove doesn’t look like much: drab brown feathers, a slender beak, a pronounced strut in their walk typical of most other doves. You’d be forgiven for overlooking it in favor of Cuba’s prismatic parrots. But looks aren’t everything. For decades, this unassuming bird has perplexed biologists, who have no idea where it came from, how it got to the island or what it’s related to.

Now, for the first time, scientists have sequenced DNA from the blue-headed quail dove with the goal of finally getting to the bottom of things. Instead, they’re even more perplexed now than when they started.

Read more The Cuban Blue-Headed Quail Dove Is a Unique Caribbean Bird | Technology Networks