Birds of Paradise Project

Color
1. Pigment
Many bird-of-paradise feathers get their colors from pigments. Almost all yellow,
orange, red, brown, and black colors in birds are due to pigments. Pigments are
chemicals that interact with light on a molecular level, absorbing white light and
emitting only certain wavelengths. We perceive the emitted wavelengths as the color
of the feather. While this may sound exotic, it really isn’t. Pigments are everywhere
—paints, vegetables, even our own skin. The makeup of the pigment molecules
determines the color emitted. Most of the red, orange, and yellow found in birds are
due to chemicals called carotenoids. Most browns and blacks come from melanins,
which is the same group that colors mammalian skin and hair.

Clicking through the images at right:

1. Pigment molecules are deposited in an irregular pattern of granules on the walls of

the translucent keratin cortex that make up the tiny feather barbs.
2. The yellow and red on the back of Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise are particularly vibrant
examples of likely carotenoid pigments. The brown wing feathers and black face are
from melanin pigments. Surprisingly, the blues are not pigments at all, but we’ll deal
with those separately.
3. Goldie’s Bird-of-Paradise and other members of the genus Paradisaea have a range
of carotenoid yellows and oranges alongside browns and blacks.
4. The underside of the King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise (seen here from below),
appears almost stained with yellow pigment. The head and upper back are black.
5. The yellow pigment of the Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise is particularly bright.
There’s something different about this yellow than is found in any other bird-of-
paradise.
6. The yellow pigment of the Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise turns white after death and
also in captivity without a special diet. That’s not true for any other bird-of-paradise.
Why? We don’t know.

2. Structural Colors
There are no known blue pigments in bird feathers or skin. Blue pigments are rare in nature
because they require metals that are hard to access and can be toxic; but that hasn’t
stopped birds-of-paradise from creating stunning blue ornaments. These blues are called
structural colors because they are created by the way light interacts with surfaces and
spaces on a microscopic scale.

Clicking through the images at right:

1. Blue in feathers is formed by a precise arrangement of keratin that scatters blue

 wavelengths and lets the rest pass through. An underlying layer of dark melanin pigment
removes other colors from the reflected light. What we see are feathers that are blue from
many angles, almost as if they were pigmented.

2. The Blue Bird-of-Paradise is possibly the only one of the 39 species that has blue feathers
with this kind of structural color. Jays and bluebirds of North America are more familiar
examples of this color mechanism.

3. One of the most unusual ornaments in these birds is the blue skin on the head of the
Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise. This is structural as well, but it is likely based on two-dimensional
collagen arrays, a different structure with the same effect.

4. The same mechanism is likely responsible for blue legs like those of the Magnificent Bird-
of-Paradise.

Note: One of the rare examples of a natural blue pigment is the blue in the shells of some
bird eggs. This pigment has never been found in skin or feathers.

3. Iridescence
Sometimes the color in feathers has a now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t quality called
iridescence. Displays that use iridescent colors are directional; they only look right from
specific angles. When the feather turns a small amount, the color changes hue. When the
feather turns a little more the bright color can completely disappear, revealing black or
brown pigments within the light-bending layers. Most of the green, blue, and violet feathers
in the birds-of-paradise are iridescent.

Clicking through the images at right:

1. Iridescence is a kind of structural color based on the precise arrangement of keratin,

melanin, and air. This illustration shows the simplest arrangement. At each layer boundary,
different wavelengths bend more than others. Because of the precise geometry, only certain
wavelengths are bent all the way back out. The rest are absorbed or canceled out.
Depending on the angle of view, the same feather is seen as cyan, blue, or violet.

2. The iridescent effect can be seen best in a series of images. In the Magnificent Riflebird,
the hue shifts as this male twists his head. When he turns away a bit, the effect disappears
and all that remains is black.

3. The Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise has a deep green breast shield. For this display, the light
angle seems to brighten the color more than change its hue. When the same feathers are
seen from the side, they appear brown.

4. The brilliant cyan feathers of the Superb Bird-of-Paradise are jet black when seen from the
side.

5. The Splendid Astrapia has a splendid example of iridescent orange on its chest and in a
line on its face. You can tell that this is a structural color, not a pigment, since the color
disappears when seen from the side.
6. Very few images of the Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise are at the proper angle to catch two
remarkable iridescent traits, a green ropelike pattern worn across the belly and shoulders, as
well as a deep violet sheen on the top surface of the wings. It is very likely that, from where
an interested female stands, these traits are key components of the display. The precision of
the alignment determines the saturation and intensity of the color.