Genomic data reveal unexpected relatedness between a brown female Eastern Bluebird and her brood.

Because plumage coloration is frequently involved in sexual selection, for both male and female mate choice, birds with aberrant plumage should have fewer mating opportunities and thus lower reproductive output. Here we report an Eastern Bluebird () female with a brown phenotype that raised a brood of four chicks to fledging. The brown female and her mate were only related to their social offspring to the second degree and one of the offspring was a half-sibling.