The color of a relaxing vacation evokes images of a tropical setting as the waves crash on the beach and the sun shines above. The ocean’s color in this movie? Teal!
Teal is a revitalizing and elegant color we associate with the natural world. Still, how many teal things do you know?
In today’s article, we’ll talk about a bunch of things that are naturally teal—so no artificial alterations.
Also, this blog post is divided into a visual representation of naturally teal things, followed by a list of teal plants, fungi, and animals. Enjoy it!
What Is Associated With Teal?
As mentioned, teal is a relaxing color, but teal is also energizing and invigorating despite being considered a cool color.
This healing color is associated with feminine energy and is among the most common favorite colors in the world.
A Visual List of Things that Are Teal
Below is our list of naturally teal things.
Teal Things
Ocean
The ocean is mostly blue, but sometimes it may appear green or teal. That is because water absorbs the longer wavelengths of colors (red, orange, and yellow) from the visible spectrum.
In other words, the ocean acts as a filter, leaving behind the blue, sometimes the green, and sometimes a color in between: the color teal.
Eyes
About 8% of the world’s population has blue eyes. While there is no such thing as teal eyes, many people have a combination of green and blue, making their eyes have a teal color at a closer look.
Icebergs and Glaciers
Icebergs and glaciers may have a variety of colors, ranging from green to blue to white.
As light hits bubbles and snow particles, it is scattered once reaches the boundary between ice and air. The fewer bubbles there are, the less chance there is of light being scattered.
This means red wavelengths are being absorbed in ice, with blue light (and sometimes green, too) being scattered and escaping the iceberg. This creates the teal-like color we see in some icebergs.
Aurora Borealis and Australis
Aurora borealis is commonly known as northern or southern lights. These bands of colored lights seen in higher latitudes can boast a variety of colors.
Although solid colors have been registered, it is more common to have a number of colors in the aurora, ranging from blue, green, teal, purple, pink, red, and even black.
Blue Brazilian Apatite
While apatite is a common mineral, the blue Brazilian apatite is a blue-green stone that commands the highest prices. The more color intensity, the more expensive it is.
While most apatites are bright, some have a deep teal color.
Teal Plants
Puya Flower
Also known as the sapphire tower, this striking flower is the first plant in our list of teal things.
Puya is a plant native to South and Central America. They grow in tall spikes that may reach 3 or 4 feet and the flower stalks may be up to 6 or 7 feet tall.
Echeveria Elegans
Also known as Mexican gem, this succulent is native to semi-desert habitats in Mexico. This perennial plant has teal to pale green rosettes with fleshy leaves and long slender pink stalks of flowers.
Read next: Teal Pumpkins on Halloween? This is What It Means
Teal Fungus
Chlorociboria Aeruginascens
The next item on our list of teal things is the teal mushroom, commonly known as green elfcup.
This fungus has a beautiful teal color in a saucer-shaped fruit body. In addition, the green elfcup leaves greenish-blue stains on the wood of trees where it is found.
Teal Animals
Green Honeycreeper
With a striking appearance, the male green honeycreeper has beautiful blue-tinged green feathers, pretty much a light shade of teal. Its head is black and bill yellow. However, the female boasts a bright green coloration.
This bird is found on forest canopies from southern Mexico to southern Brazil.
Eurasian Teal
Also known as the common teal, this duck is the first on this list of teal animals because it is what gave this color its name.
The male has the teal stripe on its face, while the female is mostly brown and white.
They are distributed through Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa.
Peacocks
Although peacocks have a vibrant blue and green plumage, their tails, also known as trains, have eyespots surrounded by a teal, iridescent coloration.
Peacocks are the males of the peafowl birds, while the females are peahens. Colloquially, both are referred to as peacocks, though.
Banded Demoiselle
This relatively large damselfly (about 2 inches) has a metallic teal or blue body, sometimes the combination of both colors. Its translucent, pale wings are iridescent and create a beautiful effect as they fly.
This dragonfly species lives in many types of freshwater habitats, throughout Asia and Europe.
Brazilian Teal
The Brazilian teal is the only duck in the genus Amazonettaand its two subspecies can be found in northern and southern South America, respectively.
These ducks are light brown, but males have bright teal feathers under their wings. It’s a beautiful sight to see a Brazilian teal flap its wings.
Common Kingfisher
The common kingfisher is a small bird distributed across Asia, Europe, and North Africa.
Most species have blue upper parts and a rufous rump. However, the A. a. Ispida subspecies has beautiful teal upper parts with pale azure-blue backs.
Atala Butterfly
This small and colorful butterfly can be found in the Caribbean and southern Florida.
It has black wings with teal dots on the outer edges. However, the bright orange from its underparts is an excellent example of aposematic coloration, which means the animal has a warning color to warn its danger to possible predators and avoid being preyed on, of course.
Green Violet-Ear Hummingbird
Also known as Mexican violetear, this medium-sized hummingbird has metallic blue-green feathers and, as its name suggests, a violet patch around its ear.
The green violet-ear hummingbird is found from the southern United States to southern Mexico. Although there are records of it in Canada, Bolivia, and Venezuela.
Robin Eggs
Robbin eggs have a beautiful shade of blue, considered a light blue teal.
These eggs are blue because of a bile pigment called biliverdin. Different concentrations of this pigment interfere with the coloration of the eggs, which can range from bright, bold blue or blue-green to pale ice blue and every shade in between.
European Bee-Eater
The European bee-eater is a colorful bird with brown and yellow upperparts and teal underparts.
Strongly migratory, this bird winters in southern Africa and breeds in southern Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia.
Spring Dumbledore
Also known by the name spring dor beetle, this dung beetle is found in Europe and western Asia in both open and wooded habitats from lowland to low mountain altitudes.
While this beetle is black, it has a metallic reflection that can be pale pink, blue, green, or teal.
Steelblue Ladybird
Tiny and cute, the steel-blue ladybug is only 3-4 mm long. It’s native to Australia and has an iridescent teal coloration.
It feeds on a wide variety of small insects, including scale insects, psyllids, and moth eggs.
Orchid Bee
Native to the Amazon Rainforest, this insect can be found in South and Central America.
The orchid bee is distinguished by its brilliant metallic coloration, mostly gold, green, teal, purple, or a mixture of these colors with sparse hairs.
Fly
Some flies might have metallic colors, ranging from blue and teal to purple and black.
You might have even seen these insects flying around where you live. They are everywhere.
Greater Blue-Eared Starling
This African bird is perhaps one of the prettiest birds on the planet.
Also known as greater blue-eared glossy-starling, this bird is glossy blue-green, teal, with a purple-blue belly. Its eyes are yellow or orange, which contrasts beautifully with its feathers.
Alpine Black Swallowtail
As one of the prettiest teal things on this list, the alpine black swallowtail is a glamorous butterfly with a black body dotted with some green to teal scales.
The wingspan ranges from 4.7 to 5.5 inches. Females are more brightly colored and vibrant than males.
Broad-Billed Hummingbird
This tiny hummingbird from North America is a brightly colored bird with a red bill. The male has metallic green and blue feathers, but the feathers around the area where the two colors come together appear to be teal.
The females and juveniles are a bit less colorful than the males.
Cuckoo Wasp
Also known as the emerald wasp, the cuckoo wasp is a beautifully colored insect. Namely, it has brilliant metallic colors that can be green, blue, teal, and purple.
The flexible abdomen allows the insect to curl into a ball when disturbed or attacked. All cuckoo wasps are solitary (nonsocial) external parasites, mostly of full-grown bee or wasp larvae.
Things That Are Teal in Nature
Although this isn’t a long list of teal things, it gives you a pretty good idea of plants, animals, and more naturally teal things in our world.
Did we forget something? Let us know in the comments! We promise to continually update this article as we come across more naturally teal things.
Did you enjoy reading this list of things that are teal in nature? Then share it with a friend who might enjoy it too!