Colour Mutations 



creatures are less conspicuous than white ones. 

 As examples of black mutations which occur in 

 nature, we may cite black leopards, water 

 rats, squirrels, foxes, barking deer (Cervulus 

 muntjac), hawk-eagles, harriers, peppered moth 

 (Amphidasys betularia), etc. 



That many black species have arisen as sudden 

 mutations from lighter-coloured animals seems 

 tolerably certain from the facts that in Malacca 

 the black leopard forms a local race ; that some 

 of the Gibbon apes are as often black as light 

 coloured ; that the American black bear is some- 

 times brown, while the other bears, when not 

 brown, are almost invariably black. 



Not uncommon, although rarer than black or 

 melanistic forms, are reddish or chestnut varieties. 

 These occur both among tame and wild animals. 

 Among domesticated creatures, sandy cats, " red " 

 pigeons, buff fowls, chestnut horses, red guinea 

 pigs afford examples of this mutation. Among 

 wild animals many of the species of squirrel, not 

 naturally red, produce red mutations ; and some of 

 the grey owls as, for example, the Indian race 

 of the Scops (Scops giu] throw off a red or 

 chestnut form. As everyone knows, some species 

 are normally red. 



Green or olive species not unfrequently throw 

 off yellow mutations. As examples of these we 

 may cite yellow canaries, yellow budgerigars 

 (Melopsittacus undulatus)^ goldfish, golden tench, 



IOI 



