Birds-of-paradise have a secret glow that humans cannot see: study

A recent scientific discovery about birds of paradise living in the dense tropical forests of Oceania revealed their ability to send secret, glowy sig...

A recent scientific discovery about birds-of-paradise living in the dense tropical forests of Oceania revealed their ability to send secret, glowy signals to other birds, offering interesting news for birders and "twitchers" (people who go to extraordinary lengths to see new bird species) worldwide.

Studies published in early 2025 in the Royal Society Open Science journal show that most birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent, meaning they can absorb sunlight and emit it as a glowing color.

This glow is invisible to human eyes, but is clearly visible to birds, which have a more advanced visual system. 

What looks colourful to humans may appear even more dramatic to birds-of-paradise.

Their feathers, skin and even parts inside their mouths glow in shades of green, yellow, and pale blue when exposed to ultraviolet or blue light. Out of 45 known species, researchers found biofluorescence in 37.