Amazing Amimals: Animal Colors

With the usual deluge of lively facts, this installment in the impressive Amazing Animals series makes it clear that many of the colors and patterns that occur in nature happen for a reason. Fish have false eyes on their tails to fool predators. Female birds choose the male who puffs up to show off the best and brightest feathers because they want good-looking offspring. The spots on leopards serve as camouflage in the desert sun. The very concept of "camouflage" is explained in an effective animated segment in which host Henry the lizard disappears in a sea of green, "nature's favorite color." Footage of a real-life green creature--a slow-moving sloth whose hair plays host to an abundance of algae--is bound to gross-out and captivate. Color the animal world intriguing. --Valerie J. Nelson