Friday, April 25, 2008

Structural Color

Look at the way the color changes with angle in this Resplendent Quetzal (Trogonidae: Pharomachrus mocinno) feather:


This is produced by structural color. Instead of pigment, the fine structure of the feather reflects certain wavelengths of light, producing a specific color that changes depending on the angle viewed. This effect is most obvious in hummingbird gorgets, but this is a pretty neat example too.

1 comment:

  1. Very neat example of structural color... you can't not love that bird.

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