Blending In Our next colorful animal flies in a rain forest. It’s a macaw, a kind of bird with bright feathers. She’s hard to see. T at’s because the macaw uses her bright colors as camouflage in the rain forest. T e rain forest is a colorful place.


T ick vines hang down from tall, green trees. Pink, orange, red, and yellow flowers grow everywhere. T ere’s also colorful fruit. Oranges, mangoes, and bananas grow on trees.


Hiding Out T e macaw’s head and shoulders are green. She has bands of yellow and blue feathers. Her long tail feathers are red. T ese bright feathers blend in with


the colorful leaves and flowers. T is helps the bird hide from jaguars and other predators that want to eat it. T is bright bird’s colors may hide


her, but she isn’t quiet. Her loud calls, squawks, and screams echo in the rain forest. Her cries are followed by a


flash of color as she flies by. T en she disappears in a tree filled with flowers.


6 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


In Plain Sight T e dumpling squid also uses color to hide in plain sight. It gets help from some of the smallest creatures. Creatures too small to see live in its belly. T ey help this squid hide from predators. T ey make its belly glow. Hungry predators look for this


squid as it moves through the water. Yet they can’t see it, even when it is close. Predators that swim under the squid see its glowing belly. It’s light and looks like seawater. Predators swimming above the


squid have another problem. T ey are looking down to find prey, or an animal to eat. To them, the squid looks dark, just like the ocean floor.


This dumpling squid hides from predators.


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