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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Measuring Spatially- and Directionally-varying Light Scattering from Biological Material
Published on: May 20, 2013
Rapid, reversible response of iridescent feather color to ambient humidity
Chad M Eliason1, Matthew D Shawkey
1Integrated Bioscience Program, Department of Biology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA. cme16@zips.uakron.edu
Abstract:
Colorful traits can vary in response to neural control, hormone levels, reproductive state, or abiotic factors. In birds, colorful plumage traits are generally considered static ornaments that only vary irreversibly due to abrasion, bacterial degradation, or wear. However, in this work it is shown that iridescent feather color varies rapidly and reversibly in response to changes in ambient humidity. Based on optical models and sorption experiments, these changes appear to be caused by a swelling of the outer keratin cortex following water absorption. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing dynamic color changes in any keratinous biophotonic nanostructure.
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