Malachite green colored cation. The oxalate salt is also marketed. The anions have no effect on the color. The intense green color of the cation results from a strong absorption band at 621 nm (extinction coefficient of ). Malachite green is prepared by the condensation of benzaldehyde and dimethylaniline to give leuco malachite green (LMG): Second, this colorless leuco compound, a relative of triphenylmethane, is oxidized to the cation that is MG: A typical oxidizing agent is manganese dioxide. Hydrolysis of MG gives an alcohol: This alcohol is important because it, not MG, traverses cell membranes. Once inside the cell, it is
Malachite sunbird but highly gregarious when not breeding, forming flocks of over 1,000 birds. The call is a loud "tseep-tseep", and the male malachite sunbird has a twittering song, often accompanied by pointing its head upward and displaying his yellow pectoral tufts with his wings half open. Males also have an elaborate display flight. It was found that male birds display their pectoral tufts almost continuously throughout the night, whilst asleep, and one hypothesis is that these function as eyespots to deter nocturnal predators. Malachite sunbird The malachite sunbird ("Nectarinia famosa") is a small nectarivorous bird found from the highlands of Ethiopia