Sad to think that this spectacular specimen of an ASY male (fat = 2) Indigo Bunting safely crossed the Gulf of Mexico a few days ago but could not safely navigate the Noble Research Center.
Indigo Buntings, of course, have no blue pigment. Blue is produced by birds through light reflectance – it’s structural color, not pigment.
You might think, then, that Indigo Buntings would look really cool in UV light. They don’t, unless you think charcoal looks cool!