. Animal coloration; an account of the principal facts and theories relating to the colours and markings of animals. Color of animals. 1'ROTECTIVE COLORATIOX. 115 luit this is a fact which may be made use of in several ways. If Mr. Poulton* is right in assigning a protective value to the bright-coloured wings of butterflies "as a conspicuous mark easily seized by an enemy, and yet readily tearing without much injury to the insect," it seems unnecessary to pay much attention to the supposed utility of protective colours, such as ;iiv shown by the Kailima or the Green Hairstreak. The c
. Animal coloration; an account of the principal facts and theories relating to the colours and markings of animals. Color of animals. 1'ROTECTIVE COLORATIOX. 115 luit this is a fact which may be made use of in several ways. If Mr. Poulton* is right in assigning a protective value to the bright-coloured wings of butterflies "as a conspicuous mark easily seized by an enemy, and yet readily tearing without much injury to the insect," it seems unnecessary to pay much attention to the supposed utility of protective colours, such as ;iiv shown by the Kailima or the Green Hairstreak. The couspicuousuess of the white butterflies is, however, diminished by their fondness for settling upon the yellow and white flowers of cruciferous plants; but they cannot be regarded as good examples of protective coloration, as they fly much and are, of course, conspicuous during flight. Both Mr. Wallace. Fig. G.—Delplii, ddjihtx. and Mr. Poulton have dwelt upon the protective value of white under certain circumstances. White eggs laid in an open nest such as the pigeon builds, and the white under-side, of many pelagic fish, of whales and dolphins (fig. 6), and even of aquatic birds such as the penguin (fig. 7), are stated by these writers to be inconspicuous when seen, as they would naturally be, from below, and against a bright sky. It appears, however, that this is really not the case. If snowflakes, which are of a purer and brighter white than any egg, are watched as they fall from the sky, which is naturally overcast and dull, they appear almost black. If we can imagine for a moment the * " Colours of Animals,''p. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers), 1858-1925. London, S. Sonnenschein & co. ; New York, Macmillan & co.
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbeddardf, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1892
