deer, and even white bats are not uncommon. Some- 

 times the change of coloration is due to disease or im- 

 proper food. 



The formation of color and the color pattern of 

 animals is still a matter of scientific controversy. The 

 old explanation of the fact that numerous animals have 

 color patterns which harmonize so well with their sur- 

 roundings as to render them invisible to their enemies, 

 seems to have received a jolt. The accounting for this 

 remarkable phenomenon of protection, as a universal 

 proof of a definite directive force in nature, appears to 

 have been based on assumptions too general in char- 

 acter. With the advance of Physiological experimen- 

 tation, a number of instances have been shown which 

 seem to disprove the theory in specific cases. As a re- 

 sult of these investigations, some Physiological Ecolo- 

 gists have been rather prone to reject the old idea as 

 a whole, although there are instances in which they 

 can not justfy their positions. 



There is no doubt that the colors of many animals 

 lend themselves in a protective way, in that they render 

 the animals invisible against the backgrounds in situa- 

 tions where they exist. A specimen which may appear 

 striking in a Museum case may be practically invisible 

 in its native haunts. That animals are aware of this pro- 

 tection, is not to be doubted. No person who has ever 

 seen a grouse or quail snuggle on its nest among the 

 dead leaves on the ground, or, who has discovered a 

 whip-poor-will resting on a dead log during the day, 

 can doubt that these forms depend, for protection, to a 

 large extent, on the fact that their color patterns har- 

 monize with their surroundings. Certain frogs, lizards 

 and fishes can change their colors to suit the back- 



-M. 26 ><♦- 



