The avian colourscape is disproportionately threatened by species extinctions

MacDonald, R. X.; Harris, K.; He, Y.; Hughes, E. C.; Ioannou, E.; James, T. D.; Jardine, M. D.; Moody, C. J.; Nouri, L. O.; Varley, Z. K.; Thomas, G. H.; Cooney, C. R.

doi:10.64898/2026.06.22.733718

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.06.22.733718

The avian colourscape is disproportionately threatened by species extinctions

MacDonald, R. X.·Harris, K.·He, Y.·Hughes, E. C.·Ioannou, E.·James, T. D.·Jardine, M. D.·Moody, C. J.·Nouri, L. O.·Varley, Z. K.·Thomas, G. H.·Cooney, C. R.

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Abstract

The impact of projected extinctions on global animal colour diversity remains unknown. Combining citizen science with self-supervised deep learning, we built novel representations of bird plumage colour patterning based on >125,000 museum specimen images covering 9,143 species. We demonstrate that losing currently threatened bird species will drive a disproportionate reduction in avian plumage diversity, with the most severe losses occurring in tropical and subtropical regions. Furthermore, while humans generally find non-typical plumage phenotypes more aesthetically attractive, threatened species are unexpectedly deemed less visually appealing despite their comparatively unusual plumages. Overall, our results highlight severe, imminent threats to the existing avian colourscape and raise critical questions about the future of animal colour diversity in a changing world.

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MacDonald, R. X., Harris, K., He, Y., Hughes, E. C., Ioannou, E., James, T. D., Jardine, M. D., Moody, C. J., Nouri, L. O., Varley, Z. K., Thomas, G. H., Cooney, C. R.. 2026-06-23. The avian colourscape is disproportionately threatened by species extinctions. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.22.733718

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