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We make it a habit to detail the broad and beautiful spectrum of bird colors, but iridescent feathers are undoubtedly among the most mesmerizing. When sunlight hits the Bufflehead’s dark head feathers at the right angle, their colors transform into shades of the rainbow, from deep violet to green and gold. Common Grackles, caught in natural light, gleam gold, green and blue-purple. Starlings, too. And the dull gray Rock Pigeons shuffling around a city park might reveal a glimpse of the electric teal and lavender, shifting shades on their throat.
BirdNote®
Seeing the Rainbow in a Bird's Feathers
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[Bufflehead calls]
The Bufflehead is a teeny duck with a big ol’ noggin. The back of the male’s head is white, and the rest is glossy black. But look carefully at a Bufflehead and you might see something special. When sunlight hits their dark head feathers at the right angle, their colors transform into shades of the rainbow, from deep violet to green and gold.
[Bufflehead calls]
The Bufflehead’s feathers are iridescent. That means they’re structured in a way that acts like a prism, splitting light into different wavelengths. So the feather seems to change colors when seen from different angles.
It’s iridescence that gives peacocks, birds of paradise and hummingbirds their magical hues, like something out of a fantasy novel. But there are also less famously flashy birds with surprising iridescence.
[Common Grackle song]
Common Grackles caught in bright sunlight gleam gold, green, and blue-purple. Starlings, too.
[Rock Pigeon coos]
And a closer look at the dull gray Rock Pigeons shuffling around a city park might reveal the shifting shades of electric teal and lavender on their throats.
Birds are fantastic creatures, down to the faintest illumination.
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bufflehead ML138213 recorded by Gerrit Vyn, Rock Pigeon ML144324561 Recorded by Paul Marvin, and Common Grackle ML213616 recorded by Bob McGuire.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote September 2023
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# feather-09-2023-09-13 feather-09