Where feather colors come from: Why cardinals are red and grackles are shiny
Chemistry and structure combine to produce a rainbow of amazing color in feathers
Published:
April 21, 2006
| Julie Feinstein, collection manager for the Ambrose Monell Collection for Molecular and Microbial Research at the American Museum of Natural History, describes feather color. She defines structural color and chemical color; describes the structure of feathers, barbs, and barbules; and explains how pigments known as melanins, carotenoids, and porphyrins contribute to color, while complicated arrays of minute reflectors cause iridescence in grackles, hummingbirds, and other shiny-feathered birds. |
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