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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

How hummingbirds garb themselves in rainbow hues

Variations in tiny cellular structures add together to create the paint jobs of these brilliant birds.
A broad-billed hummingbird perches on a branch.

The broad-billed hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris. Hummingbirds owe their dazzling plumage in part to the arrangement of pigmented organelles inside their feathers. Credit: John Bates/Field Museum

Hummingbirds became the fluttering jewels of the animal kingdom by evolving innovative ways of producing shimmering colour.

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Nature 577, 452 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00073-w

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