July 2026 • Nebraskaland 43
H
a v e y o u e v e r s t o p p e d t o
wonder why some animals
are the colors they are? In
nature, color is rarely just for looks, and
nature never does anything by accident.
Coloration is a tool, a messaging system
and sometimes, it's a clever disguise.
Across Nebraska's prairies, wetlands,
forests and streams, animals wear their
colors like survival gear — and each
color tells a story.
OPPOSITE LEFT: An American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
sits on a log. JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
OPPOSITE RIGHT: A male indigo bunting (Passerine cyanea)
perches on a yellow wildflower bud. JACK CURRAN, NEBRASKALAND
ABOVE: A western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) sings on a
strand of barbed wire. JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
RIGHT: A plains milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) slithers in the
sand in the Game and Parks studio in Lincoln. JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
