Galbula tombacea (IMAGE)

Princeton University

Galbula tombacea

Caption

A study led by Princeton researchers found that the iridescent shimmer that makes birds such as peacocks and hummingbirds so striking is rooted in an evolutionary tweak in feather nanostructure that has more than doubled the range of iridescent colors birds can display. Pictured is the white-chinned jacamar (Galbula tombacea), one of the iridescent species included in the study.

Credit

(Photo by David Ocampo, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)

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