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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: First Proof: Ancient Birds Had Iridescent Feathers


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Just like modern-day starlings, some 40-million-year-old birds had glossy black feathers, according to the first evidence of iridescence ever seen in a fossilized feather (pictured).

The August 2009 research also moves scientists a step closer to determining the true colors of extinct creatures, the study authors say.

Photograph courtesy Jakob Vinther/Yale University