Convergent mutations underpin the repeated evolution of brown plumage in seabirds

Recent genetic data have provided crucial insights into the evolution of animal colour phenotypes, with the melanocortin‐1 receptor (MC1R) frequently implicated in dramatic colour shifts. However, the extent to which similar phenotypes are underpinned by convergent mutations at this locus remains unclear. Here, we test for convergent evolution of similar pheomelanin‐rich brown plumage variants in two distantly related seabird clades (boobies; shags). Our data show that an identical MC1R mutation (R112H) underpins similar pheomelanic plumage in the Brown Booby Sula leucogaster and two New Zealand shag species, the Spotted Shag Phalacrocorax punctatus and Pitt Island Shag Phalacrocorax featherstoni . This repeated mutation across phylogenetically independent seabird lineages highlights the role of molecular convergence in repeated evolutionary processes.