There Is No Black In Nature

When my fiancé was at her acrylics painting course at Slimbridge last weekend. One thing she was told (and something I have always been away of) is there is no black in nature.

There is no such thing as a "black" bird. The female black bird is brown for starters! The male has dark feathers and splashes of orange in his beak and eye ring.

This jackdaw has a hefty splash of silver, and the most sapphire blues eyes you will see in nature.

I was watching the rooks at Slimbridge, the colours on their wing feathers were amazing. The whole spectrum reflected back off what is supposed to be another "black" bird.

Have a closer look at a magpie .. again, their tail feathers resemble oil on water. It is quite beautiful!

One last thing ... you may think the Kingfisher is one of Britain's most brightly plumaged birds. It might shock you to find out, that they are in fact, dull brown birds. It's not pigment you see. It's not even iridescence. It is in fact natures brilliant biological engineering. The feathers are shaped to scatter blue light, it's called The Tyndall Effect.

You've learnt something again!