Page 26 - Tidepool Sculpins

Tidepool sculpins are usually shades of black, brown, or green along with some white. An amazing animal, they can change their colors to match their surroundings. That is why they are called color-change artists. By blending with the rocks, seaweeds, and shadows of the pool a sculpin can go unnoticed, as if it wasn’t there at all.

When the tide flows out to sea, tidepool sculpins either swim out to sea with the out-going tide or become stranded in open pools of sea water. They hide under rocks or among the seaweeds on the bottom of the pool, where they are fairly safe from gulls and other shorebirds. Tidepool sculpins are such good color-change artists they can often sit on the bottom of the pool, in plain sight. As long as they remain perfectly still they blend beautifully with the rocks, seaweeds, and shadows of the pool. Should a sculpin move, a passing seagull is likely to swoop down, snatch it up, and fly away with the sculpin dangling from its long sharp bill.