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

EPISODE · Jul 26, 2026 · 7 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

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 26, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

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

0:00 7:49

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.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 7 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on July 26, 2026.

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!