Typically, male birds have more vivid colours than females. As Charles Darwin first explained, the most colourful males are ...

The Birds of Paradise’s super-black feathers are so good at absorbing light that even when we coated them in gold, a shiny metal, they still looked black.

The bird is the the same size and shape of a northern cardinal. ... The male goldfinch is a bright yellow with contrasting, deep black feathers all summer long.

But when the male bird faces the camera, things go black—way black. Skip to 2:34 in the video below. This bird’s feathers are so black that you can’t see any of its facial features, just ...

They found that super black plumage absorbs up to 99.95% of visible light that falls directly onto its surface, giving the feathers a velvety “flat black” matte appearance that looks ...

Scientists are stunned by this bird’s feathers, which are so black they absorb 99.9% of light. By Mike Wehner. Published Jan 10th, 2018 12:31PM EST. Image: GregTheBusker.

Optical measurements of the bird of paradise feathers indicate that they are capable of absorbing 99.95% of light that reaches it, a similar level of light absorption to man-made ultra-black ...

The rainbow-sheened feathers of the male bird of paradise are an eye-catching way to snag a mate. Now, a new study finds the birds owe their shimmer to feathers that reflect light like mirrors.

D. McCoy et al. Structural absorption by barbule microstructures of super black bird of paradise feathers. Nature Communications . Published online January 9, 2018. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02088-w.