Pingie: HTTP:: How Some Birds Get 039 Silver Wings 039

HTTP:: How Some Birds Get 039 Silver Wings 039
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Scientists have recently discovered a previously unknown type of structure in birds' wings that is apparently responsible for creating a silver sheen in some species' wings. The weird thing is that, otherwise, these feathers would be completely black, the investigators say. They add that the new phenomenon is very different from the iridescence effect that causes plumages to appear to be colored differently, depending on the angle a viewer watches them, the BBC News reports. “We fell in love with the bearded vulture, a striking, rare bird of the Pyrenees. What struck us was how conspicuous the adult birds were, especially in the sun. The wing, back and tail feathers of these birds had a silvery sheen. Later, one of us was handling red-footed boobies and was immediately struck by how much their flight feathers on the wing resembled those of the bearded vulture,” Dr. Ismael Galvan, an expert at the National Museum of Natural Sciences, in Madrid, Spain, and the leader of!
the new research, says. Scientists from Spain and Canada also contributed to the investigation. According to the team, bird species with silver sheens on their feathers include pelicans, ducks, vultures and cranes. More details of their study are published in the latest issue of the Journal of Avian Biology. The scientists also obser...
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http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Some-Birds-Get-039-Silver-Wings-039-122212.shtml
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