Warning Colouring a Drawback 



quality be it strength, pugnacity, sting, or un- 

 pleasant taste which renders it comparatively 

 immune from persecution, proceed to advertise 

 the fact by assuming a gaudy or striking colour ? 

 It would surely be better for such an organism to 

 remain inconspicuous. By becoming showy it is 

 visible to every young bird who, not having yet 

 learned that the creature in question is unfit for 

 food, seizes and perhaps kills it. It is true that 

 the young bird vows that never again will it 

 touch another such organism. But of what avail 

 to the dying example of warning colouration is 

 the resolution of the young bird ? Moreover, the 

 organism in question, by being conspicuous, also 

 advertises itself to those few enemies which will 

 eat it. There are always, as Professor Poulton 

 justly remarks, animals which are enterprising 

 enough to take advantage of prey which has 

 at least the advantage of being easily seen and 

 caught. 



It is possible to cite cases where animals, not- 

 withstanding the fact that they possess natural 

 defences, become the prey of others in some 

 exceptional cases. 



The salamander can be eaten with comparative 

 impunity by the toad, a creature very likely to 

 meet with it. 



The toad itself may be eaten ; Finn saw the 

 Indian toad (Bufo melanostictus) eat another of 

 its own kind. He further observed that the 



219 



