Hiding with color

Hop! A green grasshopper shoots up out of the grass. It sails through
the air and lands in the grass again. You can’t see it before it jumps.
And you can’t see it after it comes down. Its green color helps it hide
in the green grass.

An animal is hard to see if it is the same color as the ground, rocks,
or plants around it. A green caterpillar on a green leaf is hard to see,
and so is a brown horned toad on brown sand. The caterpillar’s color
helps it hide from birds while it is eating. The horned toad’s color
helps it hide from birds and snakes while it looks for insects to eat.

The spots and stripes that many animals have on their bodies help them
hide, too. A giraffe’s body is pale orange or white, with reddish-brown
spots. When the giraffe walks among trees it seems to disappear. Its
spotted body looks like spots of sunlight and shadow among the leaves.

A tiger’s coat is orange-brown with black stripes. When the tiger lies
in a field of brown grass striped with sun and shadow, it can’t be seen.
When another animal comes near enough, the tiger can jump out of hiding
at it.

The color and designs on an animal’s body help it hide so it can get
food—or so it can keep from becoming food!