Science Explained: Super-black Bird of Paradise

Posted on 16th Sep 2020

Post Category: Animal Science

Super-black Bird of Paradise, Somewhat long, peculiar name for a bird but carries the characteristic to the name. Let’s find out more about Color Science of the Bird. 

• This species has been discovered in the rainforests of New Guinea in the South-East Asia as recently as in 1918 and given the name Super-black Bird of Paradise. Among all the dark-hued birds this one is the blackest.
• There are 42 species of birds of paradise found in the region comprising New Guinea, the eastern islands of Indonesia and the north-eastern Australia

^{Image credit: A paradise riflebird FEATHERCOLLECTOR / SHUTTERSTOCK} 

• Male birds of these species are exceptionally colourful. Their highly ornate crests, wings and tails make them stunningly glamorou
• The blackness of the Superblack Bird of Paradise stands out from the rest of the species of the birds of paradise.

Scientifically, black is not a colour. A substance bears the colour of the rays of a particular wavelength which it reflects, out of all the rays of different wavelengths that fall on it. (For instance, reflection of the rays of 550 nanometres and 700 nanometres wavelength is the cause of the yellow and the deep red colour respectively).

Same way, colours of birds depend on those wavelengths which are reflecting from the incident white daylight that fall on the bird, it means that some wavelengths gets absorb.

• The Super-black Bird of Paradise of New Guinea does not reflect any of the seven colours which form the spectrum of light. Actually, absorbs 99.95% rays of light and reflects only 0.05%.
• The blackest man-made substance is a coating material named Vantablack which absorbs 99.96% rays of light. (Vantablack is a brand name in which 'vanta' is abbreviation of Vertically Aligned carbon Nano Tube Arrays).
• The Super-black Bird of Paradise almost equals the Vantablack substance in blackness as the difference in absorption of light between them is negligible 0.01 % In this aspect they are almost similar.

In birds, Colors gets absorbed in two ways: by pigments or by physical structure of feathers. Pigments usually produce black but, in many cases, dull yellow, brown and red colours also. In contrast Physical structure of birds' feathers produce shimmering, iridescent colours, or shorter wavelength of light.

• It is the structure of the feathers of the Super-black Bird of Paradise which have made it jet-black. Its feathers absorb the rays of light in a different manner compared with those of crows and ravens. The feathers of the latter birds contain the dark pigment melanin. (An African bird known as Turaco has pigments which are soluble in water. Because of this, some of its colour is washed away when drenched in rain).
• The feathers of Super-black Birds of Paradise do not have melanin at all. The first scientist to study this bird in depth, an American woman named Dakota McCoy, examined the structure of its feathers under electron microscope and observed that they have innumerable microstructures like bristles and hollows. She found that the rays of light, instead of reflecting, went on rebounding like in these microstructures till they were finally absorbed in them like the rays of light vanishing in a black hole.

Why the Super-black Bird of Paradise is jet-black especially when a male bird must be gorgeous in order to attract the female of its species? At the same time it is also logical that this bird would not have become exceptionally black unless it gave some benefit in the matter of survival. In other words, the males of the species of Super-black Bird of Paradise would not have acquired extreme blackness unless it was advantageous in the process of natural selection.

After studying various behavioural aspects of this species, zoologist Dakota McCoy and her associate researchers have concluded that it is indeed so. Extreme blackness helps the male in attracting the opposite sex for mating.

The male also has a horizontal band of sky blue colour on its throat. It is an ordinary band. However, it does not appear to be so to the female. In her vision this band shines like a fluorescent sticker. The illusion is due to the jet-black background. If the background were not black to the extent of 99.95%, the band would not appear shiny.

This illusion is subject to one condition. The display of outspread feathers during the courtship must be in line with the eyes of the female visual effect. The male bird, therefore, changes its orientation whenever the female changes her position. However, the question why the Super-black Bird of Paradise is pitch- dark while the rest of the species of the Birds of Paradise are so vividly coloured remains a matter of debate.

Six species of birds of paradise and one close relative. a, b Species with normal black plumage patches. c-g Species with super black plumage patches. a Paradise-crow Lycocorax pyrrhopterus. b Lesser Melampitta Melampitta lugubris, a Papuan corvoid closely related to birds of paradise. c Princess Stephanie's Astrapia Astrapia stephaniae. d Twelve-wired Birds-of-Paradise Seleucidis melanoleucus. e Paradise Riflebird Ptiloris paradiseus during courtship display. f Wahnes' Parotia Parotia wahnesi. g Superb Bird-of-Paradise Lophorina superba during courtship display with female (brown plumage). Photo credits: a @Hanom Bashari/Burung Indonesia; b Daniel López-Velasco; c Trans Niugini Tours; d-f Tim Laman; g Ed Scholes