Guess we'll have to be updating our reconstructions. It's really cool to be finally able to know for sure what colour several species (stout-legged moa, heavy-footed moa, upland moa and the South Island giant moa) of long extinct animals were. Hopefully similar techniques can be used in future for other animals.

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Originally Posted by Nicolas Rawlence
The surprising thing is that while many of the species had a similar, relatively plain brown plumage for camouflage, some had white-tipped feathers to create a speckled appearance
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The research team also demonstrated that it is possible to retrieve DNA from all parts of the ancient feathers, not just the tip of the quill, as previously thought.
Full article here.