Blue might seem like an unlikely colour to see in the natural world, but animals imbued with shades of cobalt, sapphire and indigo are more common than you might think. Meet our favourite blue animals, from the common to the rare – and be prepared for some surprises...
24 amazing blue animals
The male is what gives this American bird species its name: indigo bunting. It is a bright and pretty blue colour in order to attract a female during the breeding months, with brown plumage in winter. The female is a less showy brown all year round/Getty
Can this be real? A beautiful blue dragon sea slug/GettyBy-the-wind sailors live in warm and temperate oceans around the world/GettyA blue carpenter bee, Xylocopa caerulea, on a flower/Getty
The Grand Cayman blue iguana/Michael Fitzsimmons/GettySri Lankan blue magpie in Sri Lanka/GettyA Blue Bielzia coerulans slug crawls over dry leaves in forest/Getty
Blue jays in the snow/Gary Carter/GettyStriped surgeonfish at the Great Barrier Reef/Norbert Probst/GettyA young panther chameleon/fotoclick/GettyCommon kingfisher in Sussex, UK/Lillian King/GettyBlue shark in the sunlight at Gordon's Bay, Azores/Margriet Tilstra/Getty
Blue-winged kookaburra/Rini Kools/GettyEastern bluebird/Gary Carter/GettyAn emperor dragonfly/Anne Richardson/GettyBlue-girdled angelfish, also known as majestic angelfish, swimming past soft corals in Komodo National Park, Indonesia/Georgette Douwma/GettyNormally brown in colour, male sinai agama lizards turn blue in the mating season to attract females/Grandbrothers/GettyThe blue whale is probably one blue animal everyone can name. Blue whales are actually blue-grey, but they appear brilliantly turquoise in the water as they reflect the blue sky/Getty
Megan is a naturalist, writer and content creator. She is also a bookworm and a keen board gamer. She is the former editorial and digital co-ordinator at BBC Wildlife, and wrote features and sections for both the print magazine and discoverwildlife.com, including the Q&A and Go Wild sections, Poo Corner and News Species Discovery, the weekly e-newsletter and the social media accounts. Her features have included olms (cave salamanders) in Slovenia, arapaima (very big fish) in Guyana, and the role of hippos as ecosystem engineers in Zambia. She has also contributed to the website and magazine of BBC Countryfile Magazine, and has hosted some its podcast episodes. Prior to joining BBC Wildlife in 2016, she gained a degree in BSc(Hons) Animal Science, undertook behavioural research on zebras and dwarf mongooses, and worked in environmental education for a number of conservation charities.
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