This is bird note.

The buffalo head is a teeny duck with a big old noggin.

The back of the male's head is white and the rest is glossy black.

But look carefully at a buffalo head and you might see something special.

When sunlight hits their dark head feathers at the right angle,

their colors transform into shades of the rainbow,

from deep violet to green and gold.

The buffalo head's feathers are iridescent.

That means they're structured in a way that acts like a prism,

splitting light into different wavelengths. So the feathers seems to change colors when seen from different

angles. It's iridescence that gives peacocks, birds of paradise, and hummingbirds their magical

hues, like something out of a fantasy novel. But there are also less famously flashy birds

with surprising iridescence.

Common grackles caught in bright sunlight

gleam gold, green, and blue-purple.

Starlings, too.

And a closer look at the dull gray rock pigeon

shuffling around a city park might reveal the shifting shades

of electric teal and lavender on their throats.

Birds are fantastic creatures, down to the faintest illumination.

For Bird Note, I'm Ariana Rimmel.