The sky is beautiful, the fish are beautiful,
I have no interest in catching them.
Freshwater fish are dull, the rest can
be so colourful because, no-one is sure . . .
Raptors are dull, camouflaged for their hunting techniques.
Whistling Kites are opportunistic hunters and scavengers,
usually seen away from the coast. This is the usual flightpath
of Ospreys, Sea-Eagles and Brahminy Kites.
Lorikeets are bright, because rainforest once covered
this coast and they need to stand out to attract mates
and communicate with others. The blue feathers
are from the way light interacts with nanosized features
of a feather’s surface, but early in their evolution
these birds developed an enzyme to produce pigments
called psittacofulvins. These produce reds and yellows.
Green appears when feathers with yellow pigments
combine with the blue-producing nanostructures.
