Feather microstructures can remarkably change the appearance of red plumage without any corresponding changes in either pigment concentration or molecule types Adult male Brazilian tanager ...

Female tanager birds dig flamboyant males. So to build plumage that really pops with orange or red or yellow, a male has to eat fruits and absorb their carotenoids. The fancy feathers he produces then ...

Humboldt penguins live in places that dip below freezing in the winter, and despite getting wet, their feathers stay sleek and free of ice. Scientists have now figured out what could make that ...

Elaborate feather microstructures allow male tanagers to enhance their colors, making them seem as if they are higher quality mates. By Emily Anthes Male tanagers are meant to be noticed. Many species ...

With the general exception of humans, among whom the female form is often considered more aesthetically pleasing than males, it is usually the male members in other species — especially birds — who ...

A male masked crimson tanager displays his brilliant red and black plumage in Peru. Francesco Veronesi via Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0 Male tanagers are birds that use eye-popping colors to woo mates.

Many male birds-of-paradise employ bright colors and iridescent feathers in their mating displays—but a few species also sport superblack plumage. Now researchers have teased out the structural ...

Bird feathers’ coloration stems from a combination of pigmentation and microstructural optical effects functioning at spatial scales ranging from whole barbs down to individual barbules just a handful ...

Walking down a road during a white winter comes with its own set of challenges: the frigid cold, stepping around slippery ice on roads and the need to switch sidewalks to avoid dagger-sharp icicles ...

Humboldt penguins live in places that dip below freezing in the winter, and despite getting wet, their feathers stay sleek and free of ice. Scientists have now figured out what could make that ...

Humboldt penguins live in places that dip below freezing in the winter, and despite getting wet, their feathers stay sleek and free of ice. Scientists have now figured out what could make that ...