A male Superb Bird of Paradise displays his super-black and brilliant blue plumage to an onlooking female. Ed Scholes, CC BY-ND Super-black feathers on these guys are like looking into a dark cave.

The mating display of the male bird of paradise owes its optical extravagance to a background so black it is the envy of telescope and solar panel engineers, according to a new study published Jan. 9 ...

"Hopefully, engineers can use what the bird of paradise teaches us to improve our own human technologies as well." At present, the darkest manmade material ever produced is said to absorb 99.96% ...

D. McCoy et al. Structural absorption by barbule microstructures of super black bird of paradise feathers. Nature Communications. Published online January 9, 2018. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02088-w.

More than one way to build a black bird Date: November 1, 2022 Source: Cornell University Summary: For a species of flycatcher in the remote Solomon Islands, scientists have so far found at least ...

The right one comes from a paradise riflebird—one of the 42 species of bird-of-paradise. Yes, it is covered in gold dust. And yes, it still looks black.

"The black is so striking on these birds of paradise. It really does look different," said Teresa Feo, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Birds.

Scientists have discovered that bird of paradise feathers are physically structured in such a way as to absorb nearly all light that reaches them, much like a black hole.