Wildlife in Full Color - Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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Hey Good Lookin’W I L D L I F E I N F U L L C O L O Row many times have mom or dadsaid, “Eat your vegetables, they aregood for you?” Believe it or not, yourparents are right. Healthy food is just asimportant for young wildlife as it is foryou to grow up healthy and strong. Thehealthier the food is that an animal eats,the better the odds are of growing upstrong, finding a mate, and having healthyyoung. The same thing goes for lookingyour best. Taking a bath, brushing yourteeth, and combing your hair might seemlike things that parents make you dofor no reason, but again, they are right!Think about a cardinal. Some males aremore colorful than others. Male cardinalsare well known for bright red featherson their bodies and those feathers thatstick up on the tops of their heads whichare called “crests.” Female cardinals willchoose a male for his bright color andhis ability to impress her with skills likesinging. He can’t impress anyone with ajunk-food diet or messy feathers!What about females? You may wonderabout the color of her feathers. She doeshave pretty coloration, depending on howyou look at it. Female cardinals are notbright red like the males, but instead havemore brown tones with some light redpeeking out. Both males and females havecrests. Why do you think female cardinalshave more plain colors than the males? Ifyou said to blend in while sitting on theirnests, you got it! Most female birds areresponsible for incubating eggs so theymust be as camouflaged as possible to besafe while sitting on their nests.If Ohio’s state bird doesn’t interest youmuch, what about a fish living in a localpond? Have you ever caught a bluegill?This blue-green sunfish sometimes has asilver or purple look. Sometimes older,stronger males even have orange on theirbellies, which catches the female’s eye.ACTIVITY: IS IT A BOY OR IS IT A GIRL?In the spaces provided, determine the gender of each couple by writing “M” for male and “F” for female. See answers on back coverAmerican redstartphotos by: (1) DAN PANCAMO and (2) JEREMY MEYEREastern tiger swallowtailphotos by JIM McCORMAC1. ________5. ________2. ________6. ________red-winged blackbirdphotos by KELLY COLGAN AZAR3. ________4. ________8WILD OHIO MAGAZINE 2011- 2012
FIREFLYphoto by KEVIN COLLINSFemale bluegills can prefer males withdark flaps over their ears and bold greencheeks. All of these colors can make malebluegills look like fish from the tropics.Male bluegills, just like male cardinals, usecolor as well as behavior to attract thefemales. Some male bluegills use mimicry(to look like something else) to meet thefemales they are most interested in. Theydo this by not being very colorful, so theylook more like females. Then they cansneak by bigger, tougher males. Thesetricky males are called “sneakers.” Theyprove that boys don’t always have to lookfancy to get the girl!Speaking of fancy, have you everseen a bright little bug that servesas its own night light when you areplaying outside after dark? Unlike thecolors in bird feathers or fish scales,fireflies, also called lightning bugs, usecolor in one of the neatest ways on theplanet to attract mates. Their abdomensglow! Fireflies blink at each other, whichis a type of communication. If a femalelikes what a blinking male has to say, shewill flicker her beautiful yellow light athim, which is an invitation to come closer.Some females like males who flash slowlywhile others prefer males who flash fast.Another interesting thing about fireflies isthat they glow even when they are young.Baby fireflies glow bright, neon green andthe yellow color develops brighter andstronger as they grow up.No matter what kind of critter we talkabout, all wild animals use appearance insome way to attract mates. Whether theyshow off fancy feathers, pretty scales, orglowing bellies, the way they look helpsdetermine how successful they will be asmates. Always remember, eat healthy andtake pride in your appearance and yourefforts will pay off!mallardphotos by: (7) DERRICK COETZEEand (8) MIKE BAIRDblack & yellow garden spiderphotos by DANNY BROOKS9. ________7. ________10. ________Eastern pondhawkphotos by ELIZABETH NICODEMUS12. ________8. ________11. ________ATTRIBUTES OF COLOR: VALUE (TINT)Value is the range of lightness or darkness within a hue. The aspect of value that uses lightness isknown as tint. A tint is the combination of any color plus white. The tint range includes any hue on thecolor wheel up to pure white.2011 - 2012 WILD OHIO MAGAZINE9
Page 4 and 5: PRIMARYSurviving in a Wild WorldW I
Page 6 and 7: Color for ProtectionW I L D L I F E
Page 10 and 11: People, Wildlife, and ColorW I L D
Page 12 and 13: hio’s mammals come in all kindsof
Page 14 and 15: COLOR in Fishh e n y o ut h i n k o
Page 16 and 17: hio’s insects are found in a rain
Page 18 and 19: COLOR in Birdsirror, mirror on the
Page 20 and 21: COLOR in Amphibianshen we think abo
Page 22 and 23: nlike people, most young reptilesar

Wildlife in Full Color - Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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