A new dinosaur discovered in China had feathers that may have glittered with the colours of the rainbow. Scientists say the dinosaur's head and chest seem to have been covered with iridescent feathers akin to those on modern hummingbirds. The dinosaur also has a bird-like body, including the sorts of feathers required for flight, but it has a crested head.

Scientists led by Dongyu Hu, a paleontologist at China's Shenyang Normal University, examined the fossil, they found that its well-preserved remnants contained traces of pigment in its feathers. Caihong lived in forests and may have glided from tree to tree, preying on small mammals and lizards, says study co-author Xing Xu, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Given these traits, the ancient animal has been named Caihong juji—Mandarin for “rainbow with the big crest”.