Microraptor

This handsome little fella is one of my personal favorites - the Microraptor!

Those tufts on its hind legs are not stylish trousers, they're actually flight feathers! With four wings full of delicate but vital flight feathers, these creatures have to be careful not to drag them on the ground and cause permanent damage.

That beautiful iridescent color of its feathers isn't actually pigment! It's a structural color, which means that the structure of the feather itself reflects light in such a way that it's percieved as a color. Hummingbirds do the same thing today!

I've always wanted to hand-feed one, but I don't want to chance one of these feisty creatures mistaking my finger for a tasty lizard. ...Actually, I just need my old falconry gloves...