Structural Coloration: Bluebirds

12"x12" Watercolor and color pencil. Inspired by the science of feather colors, bluebirds do not have any blue pigments in their feathers. Rather, the blue color we see is a form of structural coloration; the color is made by microscopic structures on the surface of the feathers interfering with the light and throwing blue wavelengths back. By Tarra C Hall-Ward