Quick Take Vulturine guinea fowl’s blue and white plumage comes from feather structure, not pigments, creating vivid, ...

Some patterns arise simply or randomly, but others develop via complex, precise interactions of pattern-generating systems. Their beauty aside, the intricacies of these systems are inspiring the ...

Birds show an amazing diversity in plumage color and patterning. But what are the genetic mechanisms creating such patterns? Researchers now report that two independent mutations are required to ...

When tigers stalk their prey, usually in the murky light of dusk or dawn, they are nearly invisible. Whether they live in grasslands, forests or jungles, wild tigers have deep orange coats with dark ...

Spots v stripes A discovery that reveals how bird feathers get their patterns also has implications for regenerative medicine, say scientists. Feathers not only keep birds warm and protect them from ...

The vulturine guinea fowl’s electric blue feathers are not pigments. Scientists reveal how microscopic structures manipulate ...

Just days after one group of researchers reported that some dinosaurs had russet-colored feathers, another set of scientists says their ancient fossil appears to have had stripes and a Mohawk-style ...