CONCEALING COLORATION 35 



one in a zoo, with horizontal sunlight bathing it, they will see that it 

 looks wonderfully like a pink cloud (which is, strange to say, just 

 what Koosevelt remarks about a flying flock of the African species), and 

 all discussion as to whether this is so or not will be at an end. In con- 

 nection with a long chain of similar phenomena, hitherto unknown, 

 is this fact worthy only of derision? If inhabitants of the world's 

 -floor prove to see the more aerial species against the sky, the flamingo's 

 aquatic enemies, dwelling below this floor, see denizens of the upper 

 air always against the sky. The flamingo question, then, has come 

 down to why he is colored for dawn and sunset sky more or less at 

 the expense of his all-day matching. The answer would seem to be 

 connected with his nocturnal habits. According to Audubon the red 

 flamingo is nocturnal (as, apparently, all the other red and rosy 

 waders are) ; and in that case his feeding wouldn't extend further 

 into daytime than merely, at both ends of the night, to overlap into 

 the rose and salmon light of dawn and evening. His feeding is 

 especially unfavorable to . his keeping watch against enemies, since 

 he buries his face in the mud and muddy water in his search for 

 the worms and other animals he lives on; and we find his coloration 

 fitting this emergency. 



This matter of sky-matching has come very clear in my demonstra- 

 tion with the oryx head, reproduced herein, which shows the inevi- 

 table effect of all the other branch- and sky-patterns, such as abound 

 on birds, beasts and butterflies that are looked up at. I have been 

 studying for years to find out the exact scene that each costume best 

 represents ; and I now beg my readers to come to Monadnock and let me 

 show them the results. 



