The tropical rainforest is home to a menagerie of wildlife. Although there are animals of all shapes and sizes, two things most of them have in common is their use of colors for protection and sometimes mating. The rainforest is a competitive environment, in both survival and love. So, the vibrant nature of these creatures not only creates a rainbow veil over the biome, but a way to compete in the rainforest.

   The starkest example of colorful rainforest animals is the scarlet macaw. Their bright red feathers are what makes them such an iconic tropical bird. But it is not recognition that makes their feathers so radiant. The colors of their feathers create an effect called “disruptive coloration” which helps them evade predators. When threatened, macaws fly off as a flock, and their colorful feathers blur and disrupt the figures of the birds, hindering the ability to spot and catch them. But this is not the only way rainforest animals use colors to survive.

   Another way animals use color can be found in frogs. Both the poison dart frog and red-eyed tree frog are examples of colorful survival, however in two different ways. Poison dart frogs, as their name suggests, are fatally, toxically, and potently poisonous. They are deadly. But their predators do not know that innately, and would tragically, try eating them, which would kill both predator and prey. So, to combat this, poison dart frogs evolved a defense mechanism called aposematism, where animals use warnings such as smells, sounds, and colors, to warn away predators, by signaling danger. They act as a warning label to protect not only the prey, but the predator too. 

   Similarly, red-eyed tree frogs also use color to warn away their predators. Their vivid red eyes act as a defense mechanism called “startle coloration.” When predators are looking to eat these frogs, they will see their eyes, and startled, will avoid eating them. Unlike poison dart frogs, however, red-eyed tree frogs also use their colors for camouflage. By simply closing their eyes, their green eyelids help them blend into the forest’s greenery around them. And additionally, they can darken their green color, or even turn reddish-brown to hide away from potential threats. On the other hand, an animal that does not want to hide away with its colors, is the bridled forest gecko.

   The bridled forest gecko uses its colors to stand out to potential mates. Like many bird species, the males are colorful with red-orange spots, and yellow collars, while the females are dull brown colors. This is because males must compete to win the female’s attention, with the most colorful earning a mate.

   The tropical rainforest is one of the most diverse biomes, where color both wards away and draws in animals. Color in the rainforest serves not only as a beautiful theme, but a practical tool.