RE: [cayugabirds-l] Super-black feathers in Birds of Paradise

2018-02-01 Thread Wesley M. Hochachka 
For anyone who is really curious the original article’s URL is here: 
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02088-w  It looks like it’s an 
open-access paper, so anyone should be able to view it at no cost.  There’s a 
photo of the gold-coated feather (that still looks black) at part of the 
paper’s materials.

Wesley



From: bounce-122250313-3494...@list.cornell.edu 
[mailto:bounce-122250313-3494...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Nari Mistry
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 11:03 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Super-black feathers in Birds of Paradise


Curious readers may be interested in this evolutionary feature in Birds of 
Paradise . I have extracted below some paragraphs from a report in PhysicsWorld 
(UK). I don't have the reference to the original papers.

Nari Mistry

= Extracted from PhysicsWorld (UK)=

Male birds of paradise have exceptionally black feathers and now researchers in 
the US have explained how the feathers manage to reflect tiny amounts of light. 
The team found that some feathers have complicated structures that create a 
scattering effect that results in almost zero reflectance of light under 
certain conditions – giving them a “super-black” appearance. The researchers 
think that this black plumage evolved to enhance the perceived brilliance of 
adjacent colour patches during courtship displays.

Birds of paradise are found in New Guinea and parts of eastern Australia. They 
are famous for the elaborate courting displays, plumage ornaments and dramatic 
colouration of the males. In many species, males have brightly coloured patches 
of feathers next to matte black plumage that appears much darker than the black 
colouration of other birds.  When researchers from Harvard University, the 
Smithsonian Institution, and Yale University shone light on museum specimens of 
five species of the bird of paradise they discovered that these black feathers 
have an extremely low directional reflectance – at normal incidence they only 
reflect back 0.05–0.31% of light. In contrast, black feathers from two other 
species of bird, used for comparison, had a directional reflectance of 
3.2–4.7%. . . . .

(Experiments). . . done by the team revealed that this is a result of the 
feathers' microscopic structure. A typical feather has a central shaft with 
rows of barbs branching off. Rows of smaller barbules then spread out from the 
barbs. In most feathers this structure is flat, with everything laying in the 
same horizontal plane. But the super-black feathers have barbules that are 
covered in microscale (tiny) spikes and they curve away (up) from the 
horizontal plane.  The researchers explain that these vertically-tilted barbule 
arrays create deep, curved cavities that cause multiple scattering of light, 
resulting in more structural absorption of light than normal black feathers. ". 
. . . These super-black feathers even retained their black appearance when 
coated with gold dust, whereas the normal black feathers appeared gold”.

The modified barbules are only present on the exposed overlapping tips of the 
feathers, while those towards the base of the feathers have a typical feather 
structure. Also, the black feathers from the back of one bird of paradise 
species, the superb bird-of-paradise, Lophorina superba, which are not used 
during display, had a typical barbule morphology and were more reflective than 
the super-black feathers. This supports the idea that the modified feathers 
have evolved for display purposes, the researchers say.
===
___
Nari B. Mistry,
Ithaca, NY
To see my paintings, visit
http://www.ArtbyNari.com
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[cayugabirds-l] Monday Night Seminar: A Night at the Museum (of Vertebrates)

2018-02-01 Thread Marc Devokaitis 
CayugaBirders:


Next week’s Monday Night Seminar features  Vanya Rohwer and Casey Dillman.
Together, Vanya and Casey curate the birds, mammals, fishes, amphibians,
and reptiles that make up the collections of the Cornell University Museum
of Vertebrates.  After a brief lecture in the auditorium, the audience will
be treated to some time with Vanya and Casey in the collections.



Join us in person or watch online at
http://dl.allaboutbirds.org/cornelllab-monday-night-seminars



Door open at 7:00. Free, no registration required.



Hope to see you there!

Marc

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*Join Us for the Next Cornell Lab of Ornithology Monday Night Seminar*



*Monday, February 5th, 2018  7:30 PM to 9:00 PM*



*A Night at the Museum (of Vertebrates)*



*Vanya Rohwer and Casey Dil**l**man, Curators*



The best natural history collections are vibrant, dynamic places that
reveal new insights into the workings of the natural world. Join Vanya
Rohwer and Casey Dillman, curators of the Cornell University Museum of
Vertebrates (CUMV), to learn how natural history collections are used to
teach, conserve, and inspire new ideas. The lecture takes place in the
auditorium as usual, but Vanya and Casey will escort the audience into the
museum collections for a special behind-the-scenes peek at the specimens
and spaces of the CUMV.

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[cayugabirds-l] Pileated Woodpecker drumming

2018-02-01 Thread Marie P. Read 
Just heard a Pileated Woodpecker drumming several times in Ringwood Preserve.

Marie


Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY  13068 USA

Phone  607-539-6608
e-mail   m...@cornell.edu

Website: http://www.marieread.com
Follow me on Facebook:  
https://www.facebook.com/Marie-Read-Wildlife-Photography-104356136271727/
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[cayugabirds-l] Super-black feathers in Birds of Paradise

2018-02-01 Thread Nari Mistry 
Curious readers may be interested in this evolutionary feature in Birds 
of Paradise . I have extracted below some paragraphs from a report in 
PhysicsWorld (UK). I don't have the reference to the original papers.

Nari Mistry

= Extracted from PhysicsWorld (UK)=

Male birds of paradise have exceptionally black feathers and now 
researchers in the US have explained how the feathers manage to reflect 
tiny amounts of light. The team found that some feathers have 
complicated structures that create a scattering effect that results in 
almost zero reflectance of light under certain conditions – giving them 
a “super-black” appearance. The researchers think that this black 
plumage evolved to enhance the perceived brilliance of adjacent colour 
patches during courtship displays.

Birds of paradise are found in New Guinea and parts of eastern 
Australia. They are famous for the elaborate courting displays, plumage 
ornaments and dramatic colouration of the males. In many species, males 
have brightly coloured patches of feathers next to matte black plumage 
that appears much darker than the black colouration of other birds.When 
researchers from Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution, and 
Yale University shone light on museum specimens of five species of the 
bird of paradise they discovered that these black feathers have an 
extremely low directional reflectance – at normal incidence they only 
reflect back 0.05–0.31% of light. In contrast, black feathers from two 
other species of bird, used for comparison, had a directional 
reflectance of 3.2–4.7%. . . . .

(Experiments). . . done by the team revealed that this is a result of 
the feathers' microscopic structure. A typical feather has a central 
shaft with rows of barbs branching off. Rows of smaller barbules then 
spread out from the barbs. In most feathers this structure is flat, with 
everything laying in the same horizontal plane. But the super-black 
feathers have barbules that are covered in microscale (tiny) spikes and 
they curve away (up) from the horizontal plane.The researchers explain 
that these vertically-tilted barbule arrays create deep, curved cavities 
that cause multiple scattering of light, resulting in more structural 
absorption of light than normal black feathers.". . . . These 
super-black feathers even retained their black appearance when coated 
with gold dust, whereas the normal black feathers appeared gold”.

The modified barbules are only present on the exposed overlapping tips 
of the feathers, while those towards the base of the feathers have a 
typical feather structure. Also, the black feathers from the back of one 
bird of paradise species, the superb bird-of-paradise,/Lophorina 
superba/, which are not used during display, had a typical barbule 
morphology and were more reflective than the super-black feathers. This 
supports the idea that the modified feathers have evolved for display 
purposes, the researchers say.

===
___
*Nari B. Mistry*,
Ithaca, NY
To see my paintings, visit
http://www.ArtbyNari.com

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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