Gouache/Digital | How the Birds Got Their Colors. Series of three images: 11.4×8″, 11.7×8″, 11.4×8″. From Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications.

Tales abound about how birds developed colorful feathers. While it is true that certain bird species use shed snakeskins to line their nests, it is thought that the snakeskins act as a deterrent to predators. This tale about snakeskins and colors is more Aesopian than Darwinian.