I think it’s time to take a look at the Magpie. But not just any old common Magpie, no, no. For the Magpie you all know and love check out Bird of the Week 11. Today I want to talk about the Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis)
And as you can see, there ain’t nothing common about this Magpie. They are a cheeky little bird that belongs to the same family as Crows, the Corvidae. But as is plainly evident, they’re rather a bit more flamboyant than the humble Crow.
What is particularly neat about them, though, is their magic feathers. You may notice that the Common Green Magpie isn’t always green, sometimes it’s blue.
The thing is, they have feathers that change colour. Much like if we hang out in the sun for too long our skin turns red. If these little guys hang out in the sun for too long their feathers turn blue.
Magic!!!
But no, not magic. Science. You see, the green colour in their feathers is made by two processes: a yellow pigment made out of carotenoids, which they get from their diet, and a blue made by microscopic structures in their feathers which scatters blue light. (You may recall from Bird of the Week 42 — the Bluejay, that this is how all birds make blue feathers, via light scattering instead of pigments). But anyway, yellow + blue = green.
Turns out the carotenoid pigment breaks down in sunlight, leaving behind the blue to shine through. In order to maintain their green colour, they need a steady diet of carotenoids, and to minimise their sun exposure. So if you ever see a Common Blue Magpie, you’ll know it’s been sunbathing for too long.
Tanning is skin cells in trauma!
10/06/2019
Bird of the Week 
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