desperance sent me a fluorescent puffin!

Because which of us has never thought, after a hard day in the lab, I'll just shine this UV light on that dead puffin...

The first thing I did, when I read this story, was check the date. And the second was to double check around the internet. But it does seem to be genuine, although the full academic paper won't happen until later.

In fact, the really improbable bit about the story is that ornithologist Jamie Dunning took so long to test his puffin for fluorescence, since he already knew that the bills of crested auklets (also members of the auk family) behave this way.

Now, if anyone has the remains of a great auk lying around...