This Reserved Bird Has the Brightest Feathers Ever Determined

In the clear daylight, the Eurasian woodcock does not stand apart. Reddish brown plumes help the bird blend in with forest underbrush to avoid predators. However, at dawn and dusk, when males of the species swoop as well as a dart in the light luminosity to attract a mate, they really shine. Currently, researchers state that their stark white tail plumes are the brightest plumage ever determined on a bird.

The backends of the small birds (Scolopax rusticola) sport extremely reflective white tips visible from beneath throughout air travel (pictured over) or when males fan their tail plumes on the ground as part of mating displays. When researchers utilized a spectrometer to determine how much light these feathers reflected, they found the white tips reflect to 55% of light– far more than any other feathers ever recorded, the scientists report in a preprint posted on bioRxiv on 11 December.

Next, the researchers built a computer model of the feathers’ microscopic framework to consider how photons bounce off the fibrous protein referred to as keratin that develops the mass of the plumage. They concluded that the woodcock obtains its brilliance from the tiny framework of tiny barbs organized in parallel like window blinds, increasing the feathers’ reflective surface area.

Exactly how the birds’ flashy tails help them catch the eye of potential mates will need more research, the researchers note.

Read the original article on Science.

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