CONSPICUOUS COLOUR 29 



Having analysed to some extent colour in 

 Nature, and shown that some colours cannot, 

 and others probably do not, render an animal 

 inconspicuous, and must therefore make it 

 conspicuous, it now becomes necessary to 

 consider the colour and habits of animals 

 conjointly. By means of examples it will be 

 shown that the colour and habits of animals 

 are correlated ; and that conspicuous colouring 

 in animals is a fact of Nature. 



The Sheldrake (Tadorna cornuta) will be 

 the first example : the sexes are nearly similar, 

 coloured with large masses of black, white, 

 and red ; it lives in estuaries, on mud flats 

 and sand banks, it nests in sand hills ; among 

 these surroundings, no matter at what angle 

 it is viewed, it is an object visible from afar, 

 often at a distance of several miles. It is 

 possible to conceive of a background, of 

 boulders for instance, or of different coloured 

 seaweeds on white sand, against which the 

 bird would not be conspicuous : just as it 

 is easy to conceive of a background against 

 which it would be conspicuous : but ask the 

 wild-fowler or longshoreman which is the 

 most conspicuous bird on the shore, and 

 he will say the Sheldrake. Systematically 

 watch the birds over a long period of time 



