Presentation Date: Feb 14, 2026
AGSA Abstract
Leg coloration in birds exhibits striking diversity across the avian tree of life, yet the evolutionary processes underlying this variation remain poorly understood. Despite the ubiquity of leg color as a morphological trait, its phylogenetic distribution, ecological correlates, and macroevolutionary dynamics have never been comprehensively quantified. Here, we assemble and analyze the largest global dataset of avian leg coloration to date, encompassing ~11,000 species and 11 discrete color categories mapped to a dated species-level phylogeny. We evaluate how leg color states are distributed across lineages, quantify family and order-level diversity using Shannon indices, and test whether observed patterns are phylogenetically clustered or over-dispersed compared to null models. Using phylogenetic comparative methods and Bayesian mixed-effects models, we examine associations between leg color and ecological traits, including habitat density, trophic niche, primary lifestyle, and migratory behavior, while accounting for shared ancestry. We further investigate the tempo and mode of leg-color evolution across clades, identifying lineages with accelerated or decelerated rates and assessing whether particular pigment types (melanin-based, carotenoid-based, or structural colors) correspond to different evolutionary dynamics. Our results reveal strong phylogenetic signal in leg coloration, with several major avian radiations exhibiting lineage-specific color biases. Ecological factors, especially habitat type and trophic niche, show consistent associations with bright versus dull coloration, suggesting repeated ecological selection across deep time. Collectively, this work provides the first global synthesis of leg-color diversity in birds and establishes a framework for integrating pigmentation biology, ecology, and macroevolution within a unified phylogenetic context.
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