CHAPTER I 



NOTES ON THE QUESTIONS OF PROTECTIVE COLORA- 

 TION, RECOGNITION MARKS, AND THE INFLUENCE 

 OF ENVIRONMENT ON LIVING ORGANISMS 



Harmony of colour in nature — Theory of protective coloration — 

 Sexual selection — Conspicuous colours not harmful — The 

 influence of environment — The leucoryx — The Barbary sheep 

 — The Sardinian moufflon — African butterflies — Coloration of 

 the musk ox and caribou — Arctic hares and foxes — Coloration 

 of mammals in the Yukon Territory — The chamois in winter 

 — Examples of conspicuous coloration in African mammals 

 — Colour not always protective — Carnivorous animals usually 

 hunt by scent — Wild dogs and wolves — Wild dog and sable 

 antelope — Sense of smell in herbivorous animals — Sight of 

 antelopes — Experience with waterbuck — Dull sight of caribou 

 — Demeanour of wild animals when alarmed — Small antelopes 

 — Lions — Large antelopes — Difficulty of seeing wild animals 

 sometimes exaggerated — Powers of sight of Bushmen — Colour 

 not protective against animals which hunt by night and by 

 scent — Animals in motion easy to see — Restlessness of wild 

 animals — Lions attacking bullocks — Zebras the principal prey 

 of lions since the disappearance of buffaloes — Appearance of 

 zebras — Undoubtedly conspicuous animals in open country — 

 Zebras by moonlight — Strong smell of zebras — Conspicuous 

 antelopes in East Africa — Effect of the juxtaposition of black 

 and white — Bold coloration of the sable antelope. 



Although there are certain striking exceptions to 

 the general rule, yet, broadly speaking, it cannot be 

 gainsaid that living organisms are usually coloured 

 in such a way as to make them difficult of detection 

 by the human eye amongst their natural surround- 

 ings. Every collecting entomologist knows how 



