Straw is a colour, a shade of pale yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...

, the colour of straw

Straw

Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...

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The first recorded use of straw as a colour name in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 was in 1589.

Straw in nature

The name of the colour straw is used as an adjective in the names of birds and other animals with such colouring to describe their appearance, including:

Birds

• Straw-backed Tanager
  Straw-backed Tanager
  The Straw-backed Tanager , also known as the Green-throated Tanager, is a species of bird in the tanager family. It is found in humid highland forests in the Andes of southernmost Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, but it is generally local and uncommon.-References:* Bird Life International 2004. . ...
  
  
• Straw-headed Bulbul
  Straw-headed Bulbul
  The Straw-headed Bulbul is a species of songbird in the Pycnonotidae family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand and Singapore. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, subtropical or tropical moist...
  
  
• Straw-tailed Whydah
  Straw-tailed Whydah
  The Straw-tailed Whydah is a species of bird in the Viduidae family.It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural habitat is dry savanna.-References:...
  
  

Mammals

• Straw-coloured Fruit Bat
  Straw-coloured Fruit Bat
  The Straw-coloured Fruit Bat is the most widely distributed of all the African megabats. It is quite common throughout its area ranging from southwestern Arabian Peninsula, forest and savanna zones of Africa and to the offshore island of Madagascar...
  
  
• Straw-coloured Pygmy Rice Rat

Invertebrates

• Barred Straw
  Barred Straw
  The Barred Straw is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is sometimes placed in the genus Gandaritis. It is found throughout the Palearctic region, including Britain , and also the Near East....
  
  
• Straw Underwing
  Straw Underwing
  The Straw Underwing is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.This species has a wingspan of 38-46 mm. The forewings are dark brown, often variegated with paler and reddish patches and usually with prominent whitish postterminal fascia...