What is the least common color found in nature? - Victoria Hwang episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 24, 2026 · 6 MIN

What is the least common color found in nature? - Victoria Hwang

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Discover what colors are the most rare to see in nature, and how physics and evolution drive their scarcity.--Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural world? Victoria Hwang explores one of nature’s rarest spectacles.Lesson by Victoria Hwang, directed by Tamara Bogovac, Artrake Studio.2:33 - Image referenced from paper by Eric R. Dufresne, Heeso Noh, Vinodkumar Saranathan, Simon G. J. Mochrie, Hui Cao and Richard O. Prum, photograph of Plum-throated Cotinga (Cotinga maynana) by Thomas Valqui, https://rsc.li/3xyhxGuSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-the-rarest-color-in-nature-victoria-hwangDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-the-rarest-color-in-nature-victoria-hwang#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Conder Shou, BrushReads, Matt Kennedy, Jonah Dobbs, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, Cameron Burkle, Dhanwanth Varadhan, David D, Zuko Gameplays, Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski and AJ Lyon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover what colors are the most rare to see in nature, and how physics and evolution drive their scarcity.--Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural world? Victoria Hwang explores one of nature’s rarest spectacles.Lesson by Victoria Hwang, directed by Tamara Bogovac, Artrake Studio.2:33 - Image referenced from paper by Eric R. Dufresne, Heeso Noh, Vinodkumar Saranathan, Simon G. J. Mochrie, Hui Cao and Richard O. Prum, photograph of Plum-throated Cotinga (Cotinga maynana) by Thomas Valqui, https://rsc.li/3xyhxGuSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-the-rarest-color-in-nature-victoria-hwangDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-the-rarest-color-in-nature-victoria-hwang#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Conder Shou, BrushReads, Matt Kennedy, Jonah Dobbs, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, Cameron Burkle, Dhanwanth Varadhan, David D, Zuko Gameplays, Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski and AJ Lyon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOW PLAYING

What is the least common color found in nature? - Victoria Hwang

0:00 6:49

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

La Finanza in Soldoni Massimo Famularo - Hypercast Podcast e newsletter indipendente di informazione ed educazione finanziaria.Nessuno mi paga per vendervi niente e voi non mi pagate per dirvi in cosa investire. Newsletter http://lafinanzainsoldoni.substack.com/Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/MassimoFamularoBloghttps://massimofamularo.com/X(ex-Twitter)https://x.com/MassimoFamularo---Questo podcast fa parte di Hypercast Network — 📧 Per proposte commerciali scrivi a: [email protected] TED Talks Society and Culture Thought-provoking videos about life and being human, with ideas from business leaders, psychologists and researchers speaking onstage at the TED conference, TEDx events and partner events around the world. You can also download these and many other videos free on TED.com, with an interactive English transcript and subtitles in up to 80 languages. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. TSOB w/ Dr. G--The Sex Ed of Blackfolk Dr. Tracie Q. Gilbert: Sexuality Educator and Podcaster T.S.O.B. with Dr. G is a weekly podcast that offers intellectual table talk about race and sexuality. Join educator and researcher Dr. Tracie Q. Gilbert as she chats with amazing sex educators, counselors, and therapists, applying a professional lens to sexiness, health and healing in the new millennium. Scar(r)ed For Life pjwrench A nostalgic, banter-full and analytical delve into all the TV shows, movies, games, books, and other media that scared (and scarred!) us s***less when we were children in the 90s. Ranging from the infamous to the obscure, from The Wizard of Oz to The Demon Headmaster, from Tomb Raider to fairytales, we’ve offer up 2 classic pieces of entertainment to reminisce and wax lyrical. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 6 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on June 24, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Discover what colors are the most rare to see in nature, and how physics and evolution drive their scarcity.--Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in...

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!