The poor old pigeon is a much-maligned bird. And you know, I get it, city pigeons are a feral species, they’ve got a reputation for pooping on things and eating trash. But some pigeons are just straight up beautiful, and there is maybe none more so than the Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera).
These stocky Australian birds are fairly common (as you might have guessed from the name), but they rarely come into the suburbs and when spotted in the bush are quite cautious and retiring. Which is a shame because it makes it rather difficult to appreciate that splendid plumage. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, their wings have a special metallic quality. From some angles they do appear bronze, but at other times their wings can flash yellow, red, green or blue. So how do they do it?
Well, this is no common plumage. The colours you see on a Bronzewing’s wing aren’t made with pigment in the normal way. Instead, it’s because of the microscopic structure of the feather. Down on the nano level, the keratin that makes up the feather acts like tiny prisms, scattering white light into a full spectrum of colour, just like a crystal. Thanks to the careful arrangement of the feathers, it means when you look at the bird from different angles you might see their wings shimmering red and yellow, but if you shift your vantage point it will change to blue or green, even jet black. It’s a fancy trick of physics.
But you know what, getting people to appreciate a Bronzewing is easy. I mean, look at that handsome pigeon, it basically sells itself.
The real trick is convincing someone that a filthy city pigeon is amazing, and that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do. I recently got together with some friends to change their opinion of pigeons. Are they gross flying rats, or are they brilliant birds worthy of your love? If you want to find out if I could spread some pigeon propaganda, then why not tune in to our conversation (Apple, Spotify) and hear how it went down, and hey maybe you too will learn to … maybe not love, but hate pigeons less.
12/12/21
Bird of the Week 