THE WHITE BLACKBERRY 



There is, indeed, no other very plausible expla- 

 nation available of the origin of the anomalous 

 berry. White is not a favorite color either among 

 animals or among vegetables. Except in Arctic 

 regions it is very rare indeed to find an unpig- 

 mented animal or bird, and white fruits are 

 almost equally unusual. 



In the case of animals and birds, it is not diffi- 

 cult to explain the avoidance of white furs and 

 feathers. A white bird, for example, is obviously 

 very conspicuous, and thus is much more open to 

 the attacks of its enemies than a bird of some 

 color that blends with its surroundings. So we 

 find that there is no small bird of the Northern 

 Hemisphere, with the single exception of the snow- 

 bunting, which normally dresses wholly in white. 

 The exception in the case of the snow-bunting is 

 obviously explained by the habits of the bird itself. 



And even this bird assumes a brownish coat in 

 the summer. 



There are a few large water-fowl, notably the 

 pelican and certain herons that wear snowy white 

 plumage habitually throughout the year. But 

 these are birds of predacious habits that are little 

 subject to the attacks of enemies, and it has been 

 shown that the white color, or bluish white, tends 

 to make the birds inconspicuous from the view- 

 point of the fish that are their prey. 



[49] 



