Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea

National Institute of Ecology (국립생태원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Microstructures in Blue Feathers of the Common Kingfisher

  • Lee, Eunok (Biomimicry Team, Division of Ecological Information, National Institute of Ecology) ;
  • Bae, Haejin (Biomimicry Team, Division of Ecological Information, National Institute of Ecology) ;
  • Jeon, Deok-Jin (School of Integrated Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Ji, Seungmuk (School of Integrated Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Yeo, Jong-Souk (School of Integrated Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Kim, Jinhee (Biomimicry Team, Division of Ecological Information, National Institute of Ecology)
  • Received : 2020.09.23
  • Accepted : 2020.12.15
  • Published : 2021.02.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

We measured the sizes of microstructures and the reflectance of blue feathers in the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). The colors were mainly produced in the barbs, which were composed of keratin sponge layers with air spaces and melanin rods. The reflectance spectra of back and tail feathers of the Common Kingfisher showed a peak with a broad plateau in the visible wavelength, whereas those of the wing feathers showed peaks in ultraviolet and visible and short-wavelengths. Moreover, the reflectance of back and tail feathers was higher than that of wing feathers. The blue color of the feathers comes from the keratin sponge layer due to coherent scattering. The back and tail feathers are composed of the keratin sponge layer only, and the wing feathers are composed of the keratin sponge layer and the keratin honeycomb structure. Due to the difference in these structures, it supposed that the reflectance is different. Determining why the reflectance spectra of the back and tail feathers were flattened will require further study.

Keywords

References

  1. D'Alba, L., Saranathan, V., Clarke, J.A., Vinther, J.A., Prum, R.O., and Shawkey, M.D. (2011). Colour-producing β-keratin nanofibres in blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) feathers. Biology Letters, 7, 543-546. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.1163
  2. Doucet, S.M., Shawkey, M.D., Hill, G.E., and Montgomerie, R. (2006). Iridescent plumage in satin bowerbirds: structure, mechanisms and nanostructural predictors of individual variation in colour. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 209(Pt 2), 380-390. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01988
  3. Fu, Y., Tippets, C.A., Donev, E.U., and Lopez, R. (2016). Structural colors: from natural to artificial systems. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, 8, 758-775. https://doi.org/10.1002/wnan.1396
  4. Kinoshita, S. (2008). Structural Colors in the Realm of Nature, Singapore: World Scientific.
  5. Kinoshita, S., and Yoshioka, S. (2005). Structural colors in nature: the role of regularity and irregularity in the structure. Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry, 6, 1442-1459. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.200500007
  6. Kinoshita, S., Yoshioka, S., and Miyazaki, J. (2008). Physics of structural colors. Reports on Progress in Physics, 71, 076401. https://doi.org/10.1088/0034-4885/71/7/076401
  7. Lopez-Garcia, M., Masters, N., O'Brien, H.E., Lennon, J., Atkinson, G., Cryan, M.J., et al. (2018). Light-induced dynamic structural color by intracellular 3D photonic crystals in brown algae. Science Advances, 4, eaan8917. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aan8917
  8. McGraw, K.J., Safran, R.J., and Wakamatsu, K. (2005). How feather colour reflects its melanin content. Functional Ecology, 19, 816-821. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.01032.x
  9. McGraw, K.J., Wakamatsu, K., Ito, S., Nolan, P.M., Jouventin, P., Dobson, F.S., et al. (2004). You can't judge a pigment by its color: carotenoid and melanin content of yellow and brown feathers in swallows, bluebirds, penguins, and domestic chickens. The Condor, 106, 390-395. https://doi.org/10.1650/7384
  10. Medina, J.M., Diaz, J.A., and Vukusic, P. (2015). Classification of peacock feather reflectance using principal component analysis similarity factors from multispectral imaging data. Optics Express, 23, 10198-10212. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.23.010198
  11. Noh, H., Liew, S.F., Saranathan, V., Mochrie, S.G., Prum, R.O., Dufresne, E.R., et al. (2010). How noniridescent colors are generated by quasi-ordered structures of bird feathers. Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), 22, 2871-2880. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200903699
  12. Parnell, A.J., Washington, A.L., Mykhaylyk, O.O., Hill, C.J., Bianco, A., Burg, S.L., et al. (2015). Spatially modulated structural colour in bird feathers. Scientific Reports, 5, 18317. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep18317
  13. Prum, R.O. (2006). Anatomy, physics, and evolution of structural colors. In G.E. Hill, and K.J., MacGraw (Eds.), Bird coloration vol. 1. Mechanisms and measurements (pp. 295-353). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  14. Prum, R.O., Dufresne, E.R., Quinn, T., and Waters, K. (2009). Development of colour-producing beta-keratin nanostructures in avian feather barbs. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 6 Suppl 2, S253-S265.
  15. Shawkey, M.D., Balenger, S.L., Hill, G.E., Johnson, L.S., Keyser, A.J., and Siefferman, L. (2006). Mechanisms of evolutionary change in structural plumage coloration among bluebirds (Sialia spp.). Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 3, 527-532. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2006.0111
  16. Shawkey, M.D., Estes, A.M., Siefferman, L.M., and Hill, G.E. (2003). Nanostructure predicts intraspecific variation in ultraviolet-blue plumage colour. Proceedings Biological Sciences, 270, 1455-1460. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2390
  17. Stavenga, D.G., Tinbergen, J., Leertouwer, H.L., and Wilts, B.D. (2011). Kingfisher feathers--colouration by pigments, spongy nanostructures and thin films. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 214(Pt 23), 3960-3967. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.062620
  18. Stephen, I.D., Coetzee, V., and Perrett, D.I. (2011). Carotenoid and melanin pigment coloration affect perceived human health. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32, 216-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.09.003
  19. Yoshioka, S., and Kinoshita, S. (2002). Effect of macroscopic structure in iridescent color of the peacock feathers. Forma, 17, 169-181.