Colorful Animals

The mandrill is one of the most colorful mammals in the world. The red coloration is created by blood vessels near the surface of the skin, while the blue is a form of structural coloration caused by parallel arrangements of collagen fibers. The blue ridges on males contrast both with the red facial hues and the green foliage of their environment, helping them stand out to other individuals. Dominant males have the most vibrant colors and ...
fattest flanks and rumps and have the most success siring young. Mandrills mainly live in large, stable groups that are called "hordes" and can number in the hundreds. Females form the core of these groups, while adult males live singly and only reunite with the larger groups during the breeding season. Less

These brightly colored birds can be found only in Australia. One major difference between the sexes is that the male's chest is purple, while the female's is a lighter mauve. Gouldian finches use their bright coloration during the breeding season. When a male is courting a female, he bobs about and ruffles his feathers in an attempt to show off his bright colors. He will also expand his chest and fluff out the feathers on his forehead. Outside ...
the breeding season, Gouldian finches like to join mixed flocks consisting of Long-tailed finches and Masked finches and these flocks can consist of up to 1,000-2,000 individuals! Less

Due to their striking plumage, these large red, yellow, and blue parrots are very popular birds in aviculture. In the wild, Scarlet macaws are usually seen flying above the forest canopy singly or in pairs but will gladly gather in flocks in some areas or at clay licks. They make very loud, high, and sometimes low-pitched, throaty squawks, squeaks, and screams that can be heard many kilometers away to call for their groups. Scarlet macaws live ...
in Central and South America and are the national bird of Honduras. Less

The male Painted buntings are often described as the most beautiful birds in North America. They even have been nicknamed nonpareil, or "without equal". Their colors, dark blue head, green back, red rump, and underparts, make them extremely easy to identify, but they can still be difficult to spot since they often skulk in foliage even when they are singing. The females and juveniles Painted buntings have a dull coloration which in fact serves ...
as camouflage and helps them to stay unnoticed. These are shy and secretive birds by nature and are difficult to observe with the human eye. If lucky you can spot them while males sing in spring from exposed perches to advertise their territories or engage in visual displays. During these displays, male buntings fly bouncingly like a butterfly or fly in an upright display, body-fluff display, bow display, and wing-quiver display. These displays are used in agonistic conflicts with other males or when courting females. Less

The male Painted buntings are often described as the most beautiful birds in North America. They even have been nicknamed nonpareil, or "without equal". Their colors, dark blue head, green back, red rump, and underparts, make them extremely easy to identify, but they can still be difficult to spot since they often skulk in foliage even when they are singing. The females and juveniles Painted buntings have a dull coloration which in fact serves ...
as camouflage and helps them to stay unnoticed. These are shy and secretive birds by nature and are difficult to observe with the human eye. If lucky you can spot them while males sing in spring from exposed perches to advertise their territories or engage in visual displays. During these displays, male buntings fly bouncingly like a butterfly or fly in an upright display, body-fluff display, bow display, and wing-quiver display. These displays are used in agonistic conflicts with other males or when courting females. Less

These colorful birds are called rollers because of the aerial acrobatics some of them perform during courtship or territorial flights. The males and the females of this species are not readily distinguishable, and their displays have not been definitively linked to either male or female. Pairs are protective of their nest and one of the pair will fly in a rolling pattern as a territorial display against intruders or detract nest predators. ...
During courtship, a Lilac-breasted roller will fly upwards and then tip forward with the wings closed, before flapping to gain speed towards the ground. While leveling out at the highest speed the bird will roll to the left and right a few times, uttering a harsh, raucous "kaaa, kaarsh", before swooping up again. By the way, the Lilac-breasted roller lives in sub-Saharan Africa and is unofficially considered the national bird of Kenya. Less

Mandarin ducks are shy birds that usually hide in overhanging cover under trees and form small flocks. Only males of this species wear brightly colored plumage. Like many other species of ducks, the males molt after the mating season into eclipse plumage. When in eclipse plumage, they look similar to the females but can be told apart by their bright yellow-orange or red beak, lack of any crest, and a less pronounced eye stripe. Interesting that ...
there are various mutations of the Mandarin duck found in captivity and the most common is the white Mandarin duck. Less

These bright and colorful parrots can be found only in Australia. They were one of the species of parrots appearing in the first edition of The Parrots of the World and also in John Gould's (English ornithologist) lithographs of the Birds of Australia. Then and now, lorikeets are described as some of the most beautiful species of parrot. Rainbow lorikeets are also unique in that they can eat not only fruits but also nectar. They have specialized ...
brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar and soft fruits. The tip of their tongues have tufts of papillae (extremely fine hairs), which collect nectar and pollen. Rainbow lorikeets can collect nectar from the flowers of about 5,000 species of plants! Less

Adult males of the Golden pheasant are unmistakable in the bright plumage they typically use to impress females during courtship. Females are much less showy and have a duller mottled brown plumage. Pheasants spend most of their time on the ground and roost in trees only at night. They can fly clumsily in short bursts, but prefer to run. They would even prefer to simply run away and hide from their predators rather than fly. If startled, they ...
can suddenly burst upwards at great speed and with a distinctive wing sound. Less

Common kingfishers are decorated in beautiful brilliant plumage. Males and females are identical in appearance except that females’ lower mandibles are orange-red with a black tip. Common kingfishers are most famous for hunting and eating fish. They hunt from a perch 1-2 m (3-7 ft) above the water, on a branch, post, or riverbank, bill pointing down as they search for prey. They bob their heads when food is detected to gauge the distance and ...
plunge steeply down to seize their prey usually no deeper than 25 cm (10 in) below the surface. The wings of kingfishers are opened underwater and the open eyes are protected by the transparent third eyelid. The kingfishers have excellent vision; they are capable of binocular vision and are thought in particular to have good color vision. They have restricted movement of their eyes within the eye sockets, instead using head movements to track prey. In addition, they can compensate for the refraction of water and reflection when hunting prey underwater and are able to judge depth under water accurately. Less

Meet the national bird of Belize. The Keel-billed toucan is a brightly colored Latin American bird known for its large colorful bill. The bill of toucans seems large and cumbersome, but in fact, it is a spongy, hollow bone covered in keratin (a very light and hard protein). These birds live together in groups and often share cramped living quarters of holes in trees. Toucans often "duel" with each other using their bills, and throw fruit into ...
each other's mouths. They also like to 'play ball' when one throws a fruit in the air and a second seizes it. Less