Researchers at ETH Zurich have created a material traversed by a network of channels the size of micrometres in the same way as the microstructure of a bird's feather. To do so they have developed a ...

A study explores how birds rearrange feathers after flights through gusts and foliage. The durability of bird feathers is evident in the ease with which birds preen and repair ruffled feathers using ...

The iridescent shimmer that makes birds such as peacocks and hummingbirds so striking is rooted in a natural nanostructure so complex that people are only just beginning to replicate it ...

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 ...

The male desert sandgrouse might not be much to look at, but his belly feathers give him the unique ability to absorb and carry water. Researchers have, for the first time, closely examined the ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. As far as birds go, the tiny, swift hummingbird is pretty in touch ...

Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly-colored things in the entire world. Their iridescent feathers reflect light in a way that other birds can't match, and scientists weren't sure what made ...

BRAINERD — I was hunkered in a blind I had placed along the edge of field when a magnificent tom turkey walked into view a mere 50 feet away. I “yelped” softly on a diaphragm turkey call, and ...

More than 99% of birds can fly. But that still leaves many species that evolved to be flightless, including penguins, ...

The raven-size creature long thought of as the earliest bird, Archaeopteryx, may have been adorned with black feathers, researchers have found. The structures that held the black pigment may have ...

The researchers found an evolutionary tweak in feather nanostructure that has more than doubled the range of iridescent colors birds can display. This insight could help researchers understand how and ...