"Look at the resplendent colours on the soap bubbles!
Why is the sea blue?
What makes diamond glitter!
What makes Hubli So Special
Ask the right questions, and nature will open the doors to her secrets."
-Sir CV Raman
The orange of kingfisher plumage is the product of tiny pigment granules but its cyan and blue feathers contain no pigments except an almost transparent dull brown. These colours are ‘structural’. Structural colors are produced by the interference and scattering, caused by the micro- scopic structure of a material. Electron microscopy shows the feather barbs to contain a spongy keratin structure. This structure causes a scattering of light that amplifies blue light and surpresses red light resulting in the beautiful electric blue colour.
There is much debate on whether it is Raleigh scattering (Tyndall Effect) or Raman scattering (Raman effect).
It is believed that the bright colours are not meant to stand out, but rather as a means of camouflage. The blue of the kingfisher fades into the sparkling reflections of the water's surface and the orange feathers match its common nesting locations, the vertical muddy river banks.
Common Kingfisher
Sony A77ii
Tamron 150-600
1/800s, f/6.3, ISO 250, 560mm
Kavdi Pat, Pune (India)
Jan 2019