ULTRA VIOLET BIRDS!

Violet birds! The BN Team has gathered a collection of 10 of the most beautiful violet birds on the planet. Usually, male birds are the most vibrant violet, while their female counterparts are either more drab or totally different colors. They are all gorgeous! 

Birds often use colors to identify themselves to other members of their flock.

Birds have two basic sources of color: pigments, which are chemical compounds located in the feathers or skin, and structural colors, which are produced by particles in their feathers.

Blues, violets, and iridescent colors in birds are never produced by pigments, but rather are only "structural colors," produced by minute particles of keratin, a protein found in human nails and rhinoceros horns. Keratin particles  enable feathers to act like prisms, scattering longer wavelengths of light and reflecting shorter wavelengths -- the ones in the violet, purple, blue end of the spectrum.

Many bird species have feathers which also reflect light in the ultraviolet range. Birds can discriminate a greater variety of colors than humans, including ultraviolet wavelengths, so than  can appear differently to each other than they do to us.

Check out these ultra beautiful ultra violet birds below below!

1.  VIOLET SABREWING

The Violet Sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus) is a very large hummingbird that lives near streams in the understory and edges of mountain forests, from southern Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica and western Panama.

Males are deep violet, with a dark green back and wing coverts. Their tails are black and white. Females are dark green above and grey below, with only a violet throat.

2. PURPLE GRENADIER

The Purple Grenadier (Uraeginthus ianthinogaster) lives in subtropical and tropical lowlands and dry shrublands throughout east Africa. The males sport brilliant violet bellies and eye masks, with russet backs and caps. Females are mostly cinnamon brown, with flecks of white on their bellies and a few violet tail feathers.

3. PURPLE GALLINULE

The Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) wears its violet feathers in strategic places: on its head, neck, & belly, contrasting magnificently against its glossy turquoise green back, yellow legs, red beak, & red eyes.

You can find these beauties in the marshlands of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, & Texas, as well as in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

4. PURPLE HONEYCREEPER

The Purple Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus) lives in the forest canopies as well as in the cocoa and citrus plantations of northern South America. Males are predominantly bluish violet, with black accents on their wings, chins, throats and bellies, and bright yellow legs. Females look completely different, with primarily lime green and yellowish feathers.

5. VIOLET-CROWNED WOODNYMPH

The Violet-crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica) lives in wet lowlands and foothills in Central and South America. It is a type of hummingbird.

Males have gorgeous violet crowns, upper backs, shoulders and bellies, with green throats, breasts, and lower backs. Females are a combination of green shades.

6. PURPLE STARLING

The Purple Starling (Lamprotornis purpureus) lives in scrublands, open woodlands, savannahs, and cultivated areas throughout tropical Africa. Males and females both have metallic purple heads, crowns and bodies with yellow eyes and black beaks.

7. SPLENDID SUNBIRD

The Splendid Sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigaster) lives in wet savannahs and woodlands in west and central tropical Africa. Males have glossy purple heads, dark green backs, a crimson breast patch, and black wings and tails. Females are greenish-brown above and yellowish below. Their thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues are fascinating unique features.

8. LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER

The Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) lives in open woodlands and savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. Both males and females have same coloration, with lushly feathered pale violet breasts, turquoise underbellies, black tails, and chestnut wing caps.  

9. GOLDEN-CHEVRONED TANAGER

The golden-chevroned tanager (Thraupis ornata) is endemic to the subtropical and tropical moist lowland and montane forests of Brazil. Its pale violet body is accented with bright yellow chevron-shaped shoulder patches.

10. VIOLET-BACKED STARLING

The Violet-backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster), belongs to the family of birds classified as Sturnidae. Native to the woodlands and savannahs of Southern African, it is the smallest species of starlings.

The males rock a vivid iridescent swath of feathers along the lengths of their backs, wings, faces and throats, set off by bright white breasts. Females are drab and brownish.

Read more about Powerful Purple all this week on BeautifulNow, including  including Purple Blossoming Paradises, Beautiful Purple Crystal Power, and Ultra Beautiful Ultra Violet Musings. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by pat1479. “Violet Sabrewing, (Campylopterus hemileucurus).”
2. Image: by Michael L. Baird. “Violet Saberwing Hummingbird, (Campylopterus hemileucurus).”
3. Image: by Steve Ryan. “Violet Sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus).”
4. Image: by Dick Daniels. “Male Purple Grenadier (Uraeginthus ianthinogaster).”
5. Image: by Steven Robinson. “Purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus).”
6. Image: by barloventomagico. “Gallito azul - Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus).”
7. Image: by Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith. “Purple Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus).”
8. Image: by Kathy & Sam. “Violet-crowned Woodnymph.” (Thalurania colombica).
9. Image: by Joseph Boone. “Violet-crowned Woodnymph.” (Thalurania colombica).
10. Image: by Steven Straiton. “Purple Glossy Starling.” (Lamprotornis purpureus).
11. Image: by Elizabeth Ellis. Splendid Sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigaster).
12. Image: by Steve Wilson - over 8 million views Thanks !!. “Colour explosion.” Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus).
13. Image: by Dario Sanches. Golden-Chevroned Tanager (Thraupis ornata).
14. Image: by Derek Keats. “Violet-backed Starling, (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster).”
15. Image: Doug Janson. “Violet-backed Starling, (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster.)”
16. Image: by Francesco Veronesi. Splendid Sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigaster).
17. Image: by Martin Pettitt. Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus).