Do magpie feathers change color in winter?

On the same day, Shangluo Daily reporters Wang Ying and Zhang Danyang accidentally found a tawny bird when they went out for an interview and passed through Huxin Village, Majie Town, Shangzhou District. The bird is gathering with a group of magpies to feed and fly. Its posture and singing style are the same as those of magpies, but its feathers are quite different. They immediately took pictures with their cameras, and then sent them to Wang Yang, a lecturer and doctor of biology at Shangluo College, for identification. According to Dr. Wang Yang, the common magpie feathers are all black and white, with a little blue metallic luster in the black, and they like to be in groups of three or five, and they are noisy. Because of gene mutation, the black part of bird feathers turned brown and the white part was normal. He also said that in nature, birds with different feather colors are more vulnerable to predation by natural enemies because they lose their natural protective colors, and they are often discriminated against by their peers because of different feather colors, making it difficult to survive. It is rare that this "brown magpie" discovered by the reporter can get along well with other magpies.

It is understood that magpies are passerine birds, about 40 cm long, omnivorous and often live in groups, and have been included in the Red List of Endangered Species by the World Conservation Union.