Lots of animals are so well camouflaged they are almost invisible to the untrained eye.
Having a local guide with you is worth its weight in gold when you are on an excursion in nature, particularly in areas you are not familiar with. A good local guide can spot things that you might not notice and tell you what you are seeing. I am totally in awe of how they can find seemingly invisible creatures from a distance or in the lush and leafy darkness of the rainforest.
If it had not been for our local guides I would never have seen and identified so many birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles and plants. Some of them are exceptionally well hidden and even when they are pointed out to you, it can be difficult to spot them because they are so well camouflaged.
Try for yourself. Can you spot – in the following order – the kangaroo lizard, Asian water monitor, Sri Lankan green vine snake (endemic and poisonous!), brown vine snake (also venomous and endemic), juvenile green forest lizard (totally green), adult green forest lizard (red head), juvenile green forest lizard, and green insect with long antennae in the following photographs?
