The Colours of Animals. 75 



tion. Let us now consider the prevalent colours of 

 animals and see how far they support the rule. 



2. Desert animals, for instance, are generally the 

 colour of the desert. Thus, for instance, the lion, 

 the antelope, and the wild ass are all sand-coloured. 

 " Indeed," says Canon Tristram, " in the desert, 

 where neither trees, brushwood, nor even undula- 

 tion of the surface afford the slightest protection to 

 its foes, a modification of colour which shall be 

 assimilated to that of the surrounding country, is 

 absolutely necessary. Hence, without exception, 

 the upper plumage of every bird, whether lark, 

 chat, sylvain, or sand grouse, and also the fur of all 

 the smaller mammals and the skin of all the snakes 

 and lizards, is of one uniform sand colour." 



It is interesting to note that, while the lion is sand- 

 coloured like the desert, the long, upright yellow 

 stripes of the tiger make it very difficult to see the 

 animal among the long dry grasses of the Indian 

 jungles in which it lives. The leopard, again, and 

 other tree cats are generally marked with spots 

 which resemble gleams of light glancing through 

 the leaves. 



3. The colours of birds are in many cases perhaps 

 connected with the position and mode of construc- 

 tion of their nests. Thus, we know that hen birds 

 are generally less brightly coloured than the cocks, 

 and this is partly, perhaps, because bright colours 

 would be a danger to the hens while sitting on their 

 eggs. When the nest is placed underground or in 



