Jeffries on the Colors of Feathers. 
I 3 1 2 * * * * 
feather parts in which they exist.* The color of the mass of the 
feather may, however, owing to various colors in the small feather 
parts, be different from that of any part. 
Of these pigments none seem to be peculiar except turacin. This 
pigment is altered . by wetting the feathers, and comes from the 
feathers into the water in which the birds bathe, a fact of consid- 
erable interest, since the birds , maintain their normal color, thus 
necessitating a new supply of pigment. 
White feathers are the result of the light being reflected as a 
whole from the finely divided feather-parts. Some grays are the 
result of small black nodes in the barbules, which nodes are of con- 
siderable size, and do not disperse the light, being distributed 
along the barbules. Other grays are the result of a small quan- 
tity of black pigment. 
Yellow feathers colored with zoofulvin receive their hue from 
this pigment, which is pretty evenly distributed through the 
texture like a dye. 
Red feathers, as those of the Flamingo, Cardinal Bird,’ and the 
like, are so colored by a red pigment similar to the yellow one. 
Brown feathers are colored by a brown pigment in the feathers, 
which is for the most part collected in patches within the cells of 
the feather. 
Violet pigments are said by some to exist, w r hile others have 
never been able to extract them, so the causes of this color still 
remain in doubt. 
Green feathers owe their color to various causes. In some it 
is due to a green pigment, as Turacoverdin or zoochlorin, in others 
it is said to be due to a mixture of yellow 7 and blue dots. The 
olive-greens are sometimes produced by a yellow pigment over- 
lying a dark brown or black. 
* Descriptions of the various pigments may be found in : 
Krukenberg, Dr. C. Fr. W. ; Vergl.-phys. Studien, i R, v. Abth .1881, SS. 72-99, u. 
2 R, 1 Abth., 1882, SS. 151-171. 
Bogdanow, A., Note sur le pigment des touracos. Compt. rend., T. LIV, 1862, pp. 660- 
663. Etudes sur les causes de la coloration des Oiseaux. Compt. rend T. XLVI, 1858, 
pp. 780, 781. 
Church, H. H., Researches on Turacine, an animal pigment containing copper. 
Chemical News, vol. XIX, 1869, No. 496. 
Blasius, W., A. D. Sitzungsb des Vereins f. Naturwiss, zur Braunschweig. Braun- 
schweigische Anzeigen, 1877, Nr. 29. 
