Explore the UK’s hidden gems boasting nature’s most stunning colour palettes.
Nature’s sparkle isn’t just restricted to the South American rainforests, African jungles, or the coral glow of the Great Barrier Reef.
There is splendour throughout the animal kingdom, not least in the British Isles where among the browns and greens so essential for camouflage are colours somewhat more extraordinary.
10 of the most colourful animals in the UK
Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Widespread across slower moving, lowland river systems, these small, starling-sized birds can be elusive but are unmistakeable when spotted. Stout bodied and long-beaked, they are master-anglers, often diving into the water from a favourite perch.
Their plumage shimmers, with electric blue on the wings, head and back, an orange chest and white throat.
- Find out more with our expert guide to kingfishers and best wild swimming spots to see them.
Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)
Most commonly seen in summer off the south and west coasts, the cuttlefish is a mollusc growing to 30cm in length. It has 8 arms and 2 feeding tentacles that it uses to grab prey.
They have incredible camouflaging abilities, changing pattern and colour, while their calcium-rich, aragonite ‘bone’ is fed to pet birds.
Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
On a damp, dank day, the bright pink blush of a male bullfinch glows like a lightbulb among the woodland greens.
The chest of a female is paler, but she shares the smart black cap, white rump and stout appearance. Often seen feeding on buds and seeds of fruit trees.
- For more about this and other species, check out our expert guide to finches.
Cuckoo wrasse (Labrus mixtus)
The cuckoo is one of several species of wrasse that could make this list. Widespread, but most frequent in the south and west, they rarely exceed 30cm in length.
Both sexes have orange colouration, although the male has an extraordinary blue, green and yellow patterning, particularly strong around the head.
- For more about this dazzling fish, check out their appearance in Blue Planet 2.
Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
A small finch with a red face, white cheeks, black hood and distinctive gold flashes across the jet-black wings.
They are busy birds, often seen feeding on thistle heads or garden bird-tables, and form flocks, particularly in autumn and winter.
Rainbow leaf beetle (Chrysolina cerealis)
The Chrysolina genus is noted for colour, and the most spectacular examples is one of our rarest beetles.
Also known as the Snowden beetle, after the mountain where it is almost exclusively found, it measures just 8mm and is delicately marked with multi-coloured, metallic stripes. The larvae feed on wild thyme.
Violet sea slug (Edmundsella pedata)
Found all around the coast of the British Isles, this is a common but often solitary species of nudibranch, familiarly found in shipwrecks.
They are small, usually 2 or 3cm in length, with bright violet-purple colouration and white tipped horns that grow in bunches and are known as cerata.
- Don’t miss the first sighting of Babakina anadoni – the extremely rare and brightly coloured sea slug
Elephant hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)
Appearing from May to July, this is one of our largest and most widespread moth species with a wingspan exceeding 6cm. Their body and wings are olive-green with a striped, pink pattern.
The larvae have large ‘eye’ markings and might measure 8cm long.
- For more information about moths, read our comprehensive guide to Britain’s moths.
Peacock butterfly (Inachis io)
Hibernating as adults, peacock butterflies may stir on warm, winter days, but are more familiar during summer when they feed on flowers such as buddleia.
Each burgundy wing is marked with a blue and yellow ‘eye’, which the butterfly flashes when threatened, also creating a hissing sound by rubbing the wings together.
- For more about British butterflies, read our guide.
Adonis blue butterfly (Lysandra bellargus)
The Adonis blue warrants inclusion due to the male’s incredible brilliance, especially when freshy emerged. In sunlight, the blue of the wing irradiates iridescence, a sheen that appears almost unnatural.
They are a rare species, restricted to the downland of southern England, with two flights in late spring and late summer.