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Found out blue jays aren't actually blue and it blew my mind
I was reading this Audubon article last night and learned that blue jay feathers don't have any blue pigment. The color is from light scattering off microscopic structures in the feather, like how the sky looks blue. If you crush a blue jay feather it turns brown because you destroy those structures. Has anyone else had their mind changed by a random bird fact like this?
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carter.thea7d ago
Messed me up too honestly. Still can't believe feathers are basically tiny prisms.
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mason_barnes7d ago
Wait, so if I grind up a blue jay feather it just turns brown like a regular bird?
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