The birds that glow in the forest

Birds of paradise are bright and colourful birds found in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and eastern Australia. There are 45 known species and a new study has found that 37 of them can glow using biofluorescence (see panel). This is when a living thing absorbs light and gives it out again as a different colour. Scientists tested this by looking at preserved bird specimens at the American Museum of Natural History. They set up in a dark room then moved blue lights over the birds and recorded the type of light that the birds emitted (gave out). The team also shone ultraviolet (UV) light on the specimens. UV is a type of light that can’t be seen by humans. The researchers found that 37 of the…

You're reading a preview of

The Week Junior (UK) (Digital) - 1 Issue, 481

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.