Top 10 Colorful Animals

Life is the stories of all its heroes. The tiny ones, the unexpected ones, the scary ones and the big and ugly ones.

Life is made of many stories. There’s the one that makes you giggle and the one that makes you well up.

There’s also the red one, the blue one, the wow one, the people one and the animal one.

Life is colorful at TopTenz today, thanks to the BBC.

The BBC is celebrating 50 years of the BBC’s Natural History Unit at their Life Is website, which pulls together the best videos, images and stories from BBC animal and nature programs from over the years.

Dive in at BBC Earth’s Life Is for more amazing stories, videos and photos and visit them on Facebookfor exclusive content!

This list is not copied from any other site. It was submitted to Toptenz by the BBC directly through email. We published this list as did other sites, without knowing it had been submitted elsewhere.

10. Monarch Butterfly

Everyone loves butterflies, especially these pretty ones. But their beautiful colors actually serve as a warning to predators not to eat them because they’re poisonous.

9. Sailfish

The Sailfish’s blue stripes certainly make a statement but it has nothing to do with fashion. They light up when the Sailfish hunts, confusing their prey and letting their fellow hunters know what they’re doing. Now that’s a useful use of color!

8. Lesser Flamingo

Did you know the famous pink Flamingo’s lovely color comes from pigment in the algae it eats? They do say you are what you eat…

7. Clownfish

The Clownfish may look pretty with its bright orange and white stripes, but it’s covered in slime. It is essential to the fish forming one of nature’s great teams with the sea anemone – they are dependent on each other to survive and the slime protects the Clownfish from the anemone’s sting.

6. Blue-Footed Booby

Females are attracted to the male Booby’s brilliant blue boots, so it’s lucky for them that they get even brighter if they miss a mating season.

5. Weedy Sea Dragon

The Weedy Sea Dragon is a weird, wonderful and colorful underwater creature. The female produce 250 eggs at a time and the male looks after them. And he shouldn’t lose them either – they’re bright pink!

4. Temminick’s Tragopan

With an orange and brown quiff and a chest that looks like a whale shark lying on top of a heart, the Temminick’s Tragopan is certainly striking. It’s no surprise it’s considered to be the world’s most handsome pheasant.

3. Bird of Paradise

Not only does the male Bird of Paradise have fantastic colorful plumage, he dances, poses and completely changes his shape to woo the less exotic-looking females. Still, lucky girls!

2. Sockeye Salmon

We might tan in the heat, or go red if we get embarrassed, but imagine if the color of your skin completely changed with your environment? That’s exactly what the Sockeye Salmon does – normally blue and silver they turn red and green before spawning.

1. Panther Chameleon

Red, white, green and blue – and that’s just some of the time. The Panther Chameleon has an amazing ability to change color to hide itself. But unlike us, it can’t pick what color coat it wears – that’s affected by temperature, light and even its mood!