Why are some animals brightly coloured?

Answer 1

Some are brightly coloured to attract mates, such as birds or more rarely to attract prey, disguised as a flower or a mate.

Others are brightly coloured as a warning, telling other animals that they are poisonous, taste horrible, etc, so that predators will leave them alone.

Some use colour to startle or deceive potential predators into thinking they are poisonous. A few use their bright colours to hide by resembling flowers.

Answer 2

To attract animals of the same species but opposite gender.There are also animals that are brightly coloured as a warning or deterrent to possible aggressors.

Answer 3

I think its to attract partners - for some reason it always seems to be the male of species which is the most brightly coloured!

Answer 4

Some animals are brightly coloured for a number of reasons. But then again, it also depends on what animals you're thinking of. I used to work with live reptiles & now work at the Natural History Museum. I specialise in studying animal systematics. If you take for example, a common Peafowl, you'll come to notice, the male, known as the Peacock, is all very handsome & has a glamourous train of feathers, which he pops up & shakes to a female. The female, known as the Peahen, is very drape & is just a basic looking bird, almost as plain as a chicken can be. Many birds & reptiles can see in a completely different spectrum to ourselves, & so can detect the health of another. The Peacock's feathers look beautiful to some, but to a Peahen, it's his way of showing how strong & healthy he is. He wants to spread his genes & so, he advertises himself to the female. Take a lion for example. The males are very aggressive about spreading their genes. Upon the take over of another pride, the male will kill all cubs, which are under six months of age. They're not his, & so he'll kill them & mate with all of the females. In some prides, there can be up to 23 females, so it means alot of bonking & alot of kids to feed. But it means also, he's spreading his genes. Other animals, such as amphibians, may use their colours as a warning that they are poisonous. Bright colours are also useful, depending on the surrounding environment. A chameleon will use its colour-changing ability not only to hide itself amongst the trees, as they are practically, the snipers of the forest. Perfectly hidden & they aim directly for a particular target. But they can also use their colouring to display emotion & to communicate. Dogs are similar, at least in a way. They are known to use up to a hundred different facial expressions when greeting each other. To anybody watching them, they look as if they're just staring at one another & sniffing each others noses. In fact, they're communicating with each other. Also, when a dog stops to sniff the urine stain of another dog, the strength of their sense of smell can reveal to them, the health, sex & even the readiness for mating in the other dog. Dinosaurs, which I particularly study, are also another to consider. I specialise in the study of the Spinosaurids. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus is known for having a huge sail on its back. It looked like a gigantic bipedal crocodile, crossed with a bird. However, given the gigantic size of the animal, including the time in which it existed, there were a variety of giant carnivores in the water & on the land. The Spinosaurus would've faced quite a bit of competition & the animal may have been able to change the colour in its' sail to intimidate other competitors, even during mating. The sail has been considered for a while, as a heat-exchange mechanism, but the latest fossil evidence on dinosaurs, shows that the bipeds, including the large carnivores were particularly agile, & reptiles are very well known, for their colourful displays, which are particularly used either during mating seasons, or simply for intimidation or camouflage.

Answer 5

Its normally either to scare off their prey or to attract a mate. Normally its the male that is the most colourful, to attract the girls and have his wicked way!!

Answer 6

Usually to attract mates.
Think of it as a nightclub. The girls always talk to the guys in the nice clothes. In the animal kingdom, the girls only talk to the guys with nice feathers/fur/whatever.

Answer 7

There are two main reasons; one is to attract a mate (as with the peacock), the other is to warn potential predators of danger (as with poison arrow frogs).

Answer 8

often something thats poisonous or poisonous, or something that needs others to think of its poisonous, whether its no longer (Batesian mimicry).bugs, spiders, frogs, snakes do it subsequently. you'll be able to think of that a tiger's orange colouration makes it stand out, yet relatively its striped coat enables it camouflage itself from prey. Others use shade as id or to allure to acquaintances, inclusive of birds. subsequently why the adult males are often colored and the girls persons drab, because of the fact the adult males might desire to be sufficiently marvelous to get a girl

Answer 9

To attract mates, or sometimes to warn other animals of their poisonous attack.

Answer 10

It's nature's way of brightening up the forest/jungle.