https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/239568369 little swimming blue spots :) (really cute fish I’d say… only the babies are blue, though)
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As long as we are on the subject of reef fishes, I do have this one of Chromis:
Chromis (Genus Chromis) from Jardin du Corail, Taha’a, French Polynesia
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Is there a reason female mallard have those blue patches? Doesn’t it take away from their natural camouflage that the brown coloration affords them?
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This past summer I went fishing with my cousin for sunfish and had a blast catching them on the fly. We don’t have redbreasts out here in the PNW so it was a real treat getting to see them in the sun; they pack a ton of color for a fish that can fit in your hand and you can find in your local pond.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/234442805
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/234441403
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Good question! Each species of duck has a unique wing pattern. In Mallards, it’s a glossy blue. I’ve read that in flight, ducks will use these wing patterns to recognise members of their own species. This is especially useful when multiple species form a single flock.
These bright areas of colour are usually hidden beneath the flank feathers on the sides of the body, so they shouldn’t interfere with the duck’s camouflage. This is why you don’t always see these blue areas in Mallards.
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Oh neat!! That’s a pretty cool evolutionary trait, I’ll have to keep my eye out for similar wing patterns in other species next time I go out birding :)
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When in flight, male and female American Black Ducks have the same blue wing patch.
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Bird Pupil project.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bird-pupils
UV fluorescent organisms project:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/uv-fluorescent-organisms
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They have some of the most interesting shoulders among waterfowl :)
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This garter snake (Thamnophis, I’m told ordinoides) is fairly blue, though I have seen bluer. Observation here.
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This red-spotted admiral was pretty cool. I also got to witness puddling on excrement for the first time with it. That was…something.
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Corydalis incisa | Incised Fumewort · 자주괴불주머니
Possibly Corydalis turtschaninovii | Korean Corydalis · 조선현호색
Cyanopica cyanus | Azure-winged Magpie · 물까치
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You beat me to it! Since they have now been split, here is its european brother, Cyanopica cooki.
For lizards here is Agama atra, Southern tree agama, another Southern tree agama, and Augrabies flat lizard.
The other group that springs to mind is wasps, particularly the Pompilids with their wonderful cloaks of azul 1, 2. But possibly my favourite is the mediterranean snouted potter wasp, with it’s transitioning to blue like a titanium in a high temperature application.
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It means that blue pigments are rare. The feathers of Blue Jays and Bluebirds don’t have blue pigments and they are actually gray, but they look like they’re blue when they’re not. I have taken a photo of a Blue Jay and submit it to INaturalist but it sucks because of how far away it is and I have a crappy camera, I have taken some of photos of Bluebirds recently but I haven’t submitted them to INaturalist yet.