WARNING COLOURS 211 



volume, ' Darwinism ' (pp. 217-27) - 1 Such characters 

 may be of use in aiding a species to escape from its 

 enemies. Thus gregarious mammals, ' while they keep 

 together, are generally safe from attack, but a solitary 

 straggler becomes an easy prey to the enemy ; it is 

 therefore of the highest importance that in such a 

 case the wanderer should have every facility for dis- 

 covering its companions with certainty at any distance 

 within the range of vision ' (loc. cit. p. 217). Kecog- 

 nition Markings would be especially useful * at a dis- 

 tance or during rapid motion in the dusk of twilight, 

 or in partial cover.' 



Recognition Markings in Mammals 



A very beautiful and familiar illustration is given 

 by Mr. Wallace the white upturned tail of the rabbit, 

 by which the young and inexperienced, or the least 

 wary individuals, are shown the way to the burrow by 

 those in front. It is very interesting to compare this 

 marking with that of the skunk, which has been al- 

 ready described as possessing a very conspicuous white 

 tail. In the latter case the tail is held so that the 

 slow-moving animal is always conspicuous, and appeals 

 to the imagination and memory of its enemies ; the 

 tail of the rabbit only becomes conspicuous when it is 

 needed by other individuals of the same species, and 



1 The principle of Recognition Markings is set forth in a work by 

 the late Alfred Tylor, Colouration in Animals and Plants, 1886, 

 p. 30. 



