This week, I want to post something cool that ds#1, my just-turned-13 year old shared with me:
The blue that is seen on most birds, such as blue jays and Eastern bluebirds is not a color. Rather, it's what is known as a structural color and depends on the physical structure of the feathers to reflect certain wavelengths of light. Destroy the structure, and the color is gone.
Reds, yellows, and browns, etc. are true colors and result from pigmentation (melanins, carotenoids, or porphyrins).
(Eastern bluebird image from http://animal.discovery.com/guides/wild-birds/d-h/eastern-bluebird.html)Reference: Handbook of Bird Biology by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." ~ Johann von Goethe
