Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
June 8, 2016
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Reporter
Monroe Outdoors
Do you think bluebirds
BY TERRY W. JOHNSON
tjwoodduck@bellsouth.net
O ne morning a
couple of weeks
ago I tried to pho
tograph a pair of
bluebirds bringing
food to their hungry young
nestled inside
a nesting box
in my back
yard.
I set my
camera up
early that
morning at a
safe distance
from the nest
hoping to take
advantage of
what photog
raphers call
the golden
hour. It is that special time
that occurs early in the morn
ing or late in the afternoon
when the sunlight bathes
everything it touches with an
extremely flattering golden
hue.
As I watched the birds bring
ing tiny caterpillars to their
voracious young, the return
of the male was something
to behold. Each time the bird
would return with a hapless
caterpillar, it would land at the
entrance hole with its back and
tail facing me, take a glance
Terry W. Johnson
my way, and then disappear
through the hole in the box.
During the precious few sec
onds the bird hesitated before
entering the box, the golden
sunlight made the bird’s feath
ers appear to almost glow.
After photographing the bird’s
return to the nest box sev
eral times, for some reason,
I recalled the time years
before when I learned that
a bluebird is not actually
blue. I distinctly remember
the odd feeling that sweeps
over you when you learn
that something that you
have long considered fact
is not true at all. It is like
discovering that George
Washington didn’t actu
ally cut down a cherry tree
or learning that handling
a toad doesn’t actually cause
warts.
The famous early American
naturalist Henry David
Thoreau obviously thought that
the bluebird is blue when he
penned, “The bluebird carries
the sky on its back.” The scores
of birding field guides on the
shelves of my library concur
that the bluebird is indeed
blue.
In truth, the bluebird’s feath
ers are actually grayish brown.
Years ago a scientist found that
when he ground up a bluebird’s
feathers they were no longer
blue. In contrast, he discovered
that ground up cardinal feath
ers retained their red color.
This begs the question. “How
can that be?”
The answer is that the car
dinal’s feathers contain a red
pigment. On the other hand,
bluebird feathers do not contain
blue pigments. In fact, no bird
in the entire world has a single
blue feather. It’s true; you can
not find blue plumage on a blue
goose, blue-winged teal, black-
throated blue warbler, or even
a blue jay.
It seems that physicists call
the bluebird’s color a schemo-
chrome color, sometimes also
referred to as a structural color.
Here is how it works: The sur
face of the bluebird’s feathers
are very smooth. When sun
light passes into these feath
ers it encounters countless air
pockets and cells that make up
a layer found atop brownish
pigment cells within the barbs
of feathers. This causes the
light’s blue rays to bend. When
these wavelengths of light are
reflected back to our eyes, our
brain then interprets the color
of the bird as blue.
In the eyes of many people
who enjoy gazing upon or
photographing a male eastern
bluebird, the brightness of the
are really blue?
The male eastern bluebird appears
to sport brilliant blue feathers, but
science says our sight is tricked by
the way the structure of the feathers
bends light. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
bird’s plumage is most impor
tant. They perceive the males
with the brightest plumage
as being the most beautiful.
Although some males are going
to naturally appear bluer than
others, the direction and inten
sity of the light affect how blue
the bird appears. For this rea
son, a male bluebird perched in
the shadows can often appear
to completely lose its blue color.
Researchers have found
that apparently color is of
paramount importance to
female bluebirds, too. A
study conducted by a biolo
gist at Appalachian State
University tried to deter
mine whether or not the
male’s plumage had any
affect on breeding success.
She found that the male
bluebirds that sported the
most stunning blue plumage
proved to be the most suc
cessful in attracting mates.
I have long recovered from
learning that a bluebird’s
color is an optical illusion.
In fact, I, for one, don’t look
at the bluebird any differ
ently now than I did before
I learned that this bird isn’t
technically blue. What mat
ters most to me is that I will
always enjoy the sight of
a bluebird whether it be a
brightly-colored male, drab
female or speckle-breasted
fledgling. Now that I have told
you that the bluebird is not
blue, I hope you will feel the
same way.
Terry Johnson is the retired
Program Manager of the
Georgia Nongame-Endangered
Wildlife Program. He has writ
ten an informative column for
the Reporter for many years.
Rocky Creek Baptist
wins church tourney
Monday evening church golf winners on May 30 were first place
Rocky Creek and second place Lizella Baptist No. 2.
Representing Rocky Creek Baptist were Tony Williams, Tony
Henderson, Jason Woolsey and Hugh Farmer. Golfers forming Lizella’s
squad were Terry Wilborn, Jim Soles, A1 Earls and J.R. Pope.
Other Forsyth Golf Club events include the club’s Member-Member
Scramble at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 26.
Also, congratulations to Bobby Shell, who recently shot a 3-under
par 69 with the benefit of a rare double eagle on hole No. 3. Shell was
paired with club president Rick Schulz who posted a round of even-par
72.
Monroe County 8U Runner-Up Champions for the Pre All-Star Tournament coached by
Lin Mitchell. Team members include: Mathew Biers, Cameron Goodson, Luke Hutchens,
Daniel Jones, Gavin Mitchell, Mac Nelson, Chris Simpson, Jordan Singleton, Thomas
Tatum, Benjamin Turner, Penn Tyler, Ayden Ussery. (Photo/Suzanne Schultek)