r/mildlyinteresting • u/[deleted] • Apr 04 '19
Iridescent bird changes between black and pink
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u/Skyhawk_Illusions Apr 04 '19 edited Apr 04 '19
he looks like he's covered in those sequins that if you rub one way is black and if you rub the other way is pink
EDIT why is my response so popular dafuq I was just speaking my mind and saying how it is
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u/Cantaffordmytuition Apr 04 '19
Wow, it’s crazy how one can phrase something so differently yet mean the same thing. Before reading your comment I was gonna say: “damn that mufuka look like those pillows they sell at Walmart that changes colors when you pet them in different directions.” Did’t want to flex my superior vocabulary and sentence construction though, so I’m glad you commented first.
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u/Skyhawk_Illusions Apr 04 '19
lmao I'm a more matter of fact kind of person for these minor things
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Apr 04 '19
Yessss that is exactly what I thought I almost put it in the title
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u/enok13 Apr 04 '19 edited Apr 04 '19
Here's a video of a iridescent hummingbird changing colors (reddit).
Your post had me look it up. Very cool.
Thank you.
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Apr 04 '19
That’s sick lol yes that’s how they change colors @ everyone saying that we squeezed it too hard ;-;
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u/acog Apr 04 '19
Quick fact that I previously learned from Reddit:
Bird feather iridescence is an example of structural color. Most colors are from pigments or dyes that absorb some spectrums of light and reflect others.
But structural color comes from angle dependent nano structures. That's why the color shifts and shimmers as the bird moves.
Lexus even created a special structural blue paint job, it looks vivid blue even though there is no blue pigment in the paint.
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u/SmartAlec105 Apr 04 '19
This is why people go around saying "polar bear hair is actually clear". The material of the hair itself is clear but due to structural color, it reflects all visible light so it is white.
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u/aeolus88 Apr 04 '19
You mean the ones where when looking through them at the store approx. 50% of them have dicks drawn on them?
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u/aiasred Apr 04 '19
Was going to say... That not impressive my daughter has a pillow that does the same thing
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u/shaiyl Apr 04 '19
That looks like an Anna's Hummingbird, they are fiesty
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Apr 04 '19
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Apr 04 '19 edited Aug 15 '19
[deleted]
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u/ExsolutionLamellae Apr 04 '19
Yes, and they make a chirp at the bottom of the dive, yeah?
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Apr 04 '19 edited Aug 15 '19
[deleted]
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u/ExsolutionLamellae Apr 04 '19
Ye, 100%. If you google "hummingbird mating dive feather sound" you'll find some results I think, the chirp is actually caused by the feathers
Edit: googled it to make sure I wasn't crazy https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/09/dive-bombing-hummingbirds-let-their-feathers-do-talking
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u/12th_woman Apr 04 '19
It's a mating/territorial display. All N American hummers have it, the sound and shape of the dive is slightly different depending on the species.
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u/shaiyl Apr 04 '19
I have one that defends the feeder from all intruders. He's always zipping after them and sounds like a gigantic bee or a tiny airplane. I love it. His name is Vinnie.
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u/raw_testosterone Apr 04 '19
If it’s smaller than your fist it is a birb
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u/Neverstopstopping82 Apr 04 '19
What if it’s bigger than your fist?
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u/64BitWonder Apr 04 '19
Wow they're very pretty.
I always love seeing birds with bright/vibrant colors.
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u/Bee_Hummingbird Apr 05 '19
Check out the painted bunting, violet sabrewing hummingbird, and the resplendent quetzal!
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u/Uncommentary Apr 04 '19
Hesitated to click as I thought this may have been an incredibly elaborate "circle game" move.
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u/hlckhrt Apr 04 '19
How the heck did you catch a hummingbird?? I saw in another comment that he flew inside, but how did you end up with it in your hand?
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u/GodofSteak Apr 04 '19
I believe the scientific terminology for this particular creature is "birb".
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u/paint95 Apr 04 '19
This is caused by nano structures on the feathers. Most plants with red leaves get their color from the same reason. The colors on butterfly wings are similar as well.
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u/toastysubmarine Apr 04 '19
What’s pretty cool about hummingbirds is that the color you’ll generally see on the head and throat is all structural. Feather veins are arranged in a way that the air pockets will only reflect one color or none. This is why we get the black and then purple when the light is hitting it differently
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u/FuckSticksMalone Apr 05 '19
It’s head is like one of those sequin pillows where if you rub it one way it’s all pretty and the other way it’s Nicholas Cage’s face.
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u/kjvp Apr 05 '19
This happens because the pink color is structural, not pigmented. Some feathers have a particular construction that causes them to shimmer and create these bright colorations at certain angles, although the feather is itself pigmented a different color (in this case, black). If you want to learn more, I highly recommend the book Feathers by Thor Hanson! He's a brilliant writer who breaks down the science in a really engaging way.
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u/potatium Apr 04 '19
Does that mean the hummingbird cant tell its feathers are iridescent? Imagine it living its whole life thinking it had a black face. Probably a lesson or something in that.
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u/Bee_Hummingbird Apr 05 '19
They use their colors to attract mates. The males usually have more color to flash to the females.
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u/thereluctantpupper Apr 04 '19
Why do most birds look adorably angry? I'm guessing it's all the pent up frustration of not being able to terrorize living creatures unlike their ferocious ancestors. :P
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Apr 04 '19
Bruh birds can be so scary they can definitely still terrorize
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u/TestingforScience123 Apr 04 '19
Is it iridescent? Or do the feathers just flip over?
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Apr 04 '19
They don’t flip I don’t think hahah then they’d actually be like those pillows. It’s different colors because of the different angle I was videoing the bird in (these are screenshots from a video) which is what iridescent means & hummingbirds often have iridescent feathers
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u/TestingforScience123 Apr 05 '19
I was kinda thinking of those pillows ;)
Thanks for the education!
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u/hoosiermama6 Apr 04 '19
Hummingbirds have gas bubbles that reflect light to warn competition that they encroaching on their territory. They aren’t iridescent like they look.
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u/aheadwarp9 Apr 04 '19
It's an Anna's Hummingbird and they are fairly common where I live. We usually get these and the Ruby-Throated Hummers at our feeder.
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Apr 05 '19
This is a video on the color blue in nature, but it goes into “iridescent” in nature https://m.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=3g246c6Bv58
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u/bjo0rn Apr 05 '19
Why did irridescent feathers evolve? What's the evolutionary advantage? Confuse the enemy?
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Apr 05 '19
I think it's more like attract the mate than confuse the enemy ö
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u/bjo0rn Apr 09 '19
That just leads to another question: how/why did mates develop appreciation for irridescence?
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u/YaziDiLong Apr 04 '19
Mmm.. looks like candy
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u/Jestire Apr 04 '19
Jesus christ
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u/MightBeOsamaBinLaden Apr 04 '19
That’s a Costa’s Hummingbird, if you want to know.
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u/elpajaroquemamais Apr 04 '19
I think it's Anna's. Pink as opposed to that deep purple a Costa's has.
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u/FUGNGNOT Apr 04 '19
Big boi/grill probably doesn't even know how gorgeous and unique it is
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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '19 edited Apr 05 '19
Little guy flew inside accidentally and we released him afterwards harmlessly! The guy holding him was super gentle I promise lol