Why Are Bluebirds Blue?
Unlike many other bird colors, blue is not a pigment but a color produced by the structure of the feathers. Tiny air pockets and melanin pigment crystals in each feather scatter blue light and absorb the other wavelengths. The even finer structure of the feather gathers the bouncing blue wavelengths together and directs them outward. That beautiful blue light leaves the feather of this Mountain Bluebird to dazzle the eye of the beholder—a trick of the light. Learn more about feathers and pigments—click here.
