Showing posts with label iridescence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iridescence. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Sipping the sun

Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis (male), at Agahozo-
Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda

Sunbirds are little gems that will catch your eye. Bright reds, greens, blues, and then woah, is that the same bird? Where did its color go? What just happened? Male sunbirds seem to change color as they move around. The males of many sunbird species have iridescent feathers, which reflect light differently depending on how light hits them.