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Captured in the marshlands of southern Denmark, Søren Solkær’s ongoing project documents one of nature's most mesmerizing phenomena. BLACK SUN focuses on the quiet landscapes of the Danish photographer's childhood where nearly one million starlings congregate during the vernal and autumnal seasons. Read the full article at: www.thisiscolossal.com Via ECAL Library 
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Birds display a rainbow palette of colors, many of which come from special arrangements of melanin, the pigment that gives color to our skin. Researchers at the University of Akron have developed a safe and stable pigment based on the melanin structures.
In the colorful world in which we live, colors are significant for not only aesthetics and pleasure, but also for communication, signaling, and security. Colors are produced through either absorption of light by molecules -- pigmentary colors -- or scattering of light by nanostructures -- structural colors.
Via Miguel Prazeres, Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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Although many animals take flight, they don’t do it in exactly the same way. That’s what Eleanor Lutz’ exceptional animated infographic shows us. She’s taken the flight patterns of 5 different species – egyptian fruit bat, dragonfly, Canada goose, hawk moth and hummingbird – and used Youtube videos to give us a look at how their wings move.
“I found slow-motion videos of five flying species, and mapped out specific points on the wings during one wingbeat. I ended up with 15 frames per wingbeat, and I connected every frame using imaginary curves that went through all of the 15 mapped points.” Lutz is the first to point out that this isn’t a scientific exercise that draws firm conclusions – it’s more a beautifully artistic pursuit. You’ll definitely want to take a closer look on her blog, and at the other fascinating scientific animations. Via Lauren Moss
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The winning shots from the renowned Bird Photographer of the Year contest capture the mundane moments and extraordinary adventures of our avian neighbors. From a sleepy owl camouflaged by tree bark to a lurching great crested grebe, the stunning birds shown here were chosen out of more than 15,000 e Via ECAL Library
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"Bright colors in the natural world often result from tiny structures in feathers or wings that change the way light behaves when it’s reflected. This structural color is responsible for the vivid hues of birds and butterflies. Artificially harnessing this effect could allow us to engineer new materials for applications such as solar cells and chameleon-like adaptive camouflage. Inspired by the deep blue coloration of a native North American bird, Stellar’s jay, a team at Nagoya University reproduced the color in their lab, giving rise to a new type of artificial pigment. “The Stellar’s jay’s feathers provide an excellent example of angle-independent structural color,” says Yukikazu Takeoka, “This color is enhanced by dark materials, which in this case can be attributed to black melanin particles in the feathers.” Via Miguel Prazeres
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