436 PACKARD— ORIGIN OF MARKINGS OF ORGANISMS. [Dec. 2, 



less open country in India, and is not a typical denizen of the jungle 

 at all." 



Pocock supplies another set of facts, showing the coexistence of 

 white marks with long ears of zebras and antelopes and a bush life, 

 bearing oGt the supposition that the marks, like the ears, are 

 primarily for protection. 



" The markings take the form of strongly contrasted bands of 

 white and black or brown. Objects banded in this way are as a 

 rule more, and not less, difficult to see in their ratural surroundings 

 than those that are uniformly colored. There is little of the gloss 

 on the coat of a gray or white horse that is seen on a bay or 

 black, because white hair reflects the light less vividly than dark. 

 Hence alternating bands of these hues impart a blurred irregular 

 aspect to a body, destroy the apparent evenness of its surface and 

 break up the continuity of its outline. In an uncertain light a 

 zebra's stripes merge 'into a gray tint,' and naturally counteract 

 each other, so that the animal is nearly invisible " 



Pocock also, as Thayer, insists that for concealment perfect still- 

 ness is of all things most important. *' Movement means detec- 

 tion, and detection may mean death." Hence protective markings 

 on the face are important, and he presumes that the pair of sunlight 

 patches on the tiger's face increases its chances of concealment 

 when watching for prey or creeping toward it. 



This is confirmed by hunters. Mr. M. E. Robertson, of 

 Chocorua, N. H., in shooting a deer on the edge of Chocorua Lake, 

 entirely overlooked another one still nearer, within fifteen feet of 

 the road, which stood perfectly still, being only partly concealed 

 among the trees and bushes until it moved and was seen. The 

 white markings on the face, around the eyes and on throat, as also 

 on the inside of the large ears of our deer, serve, as in the cases of 

 the deer and antelopes of other continents, to make the head 

 blend with the lights and shades of the foliage in which it stands. 



14. Blending of the Stripes of the Chipmunk. 



In this conspicuously striped squirrel there appears to be a blend- 

 ing of the stripes when the animal is swiftly running. Although I 

 have frequently seen this species running, I confess I have not clearly 

 seen a partial obliteration or blending of the stripes; in the most 

 favorable instance the animal ran from ine so swiftly that it was not 

 possible to tell whether or not the stripes blended. 



