COLOUR AND PATTERN IN ANIMALS 79 



of its surroundings. The great white patches on the hindquarters 

 of many deer and antelopes, which are sometimes expanded when 

 the creatures are excited, break up their outhne when seen from 

 behind. The black-and-white markings on the head and face 

 and the curious reversed coloration of small carnivores like 

 badgers and skunks and ratels make them more conspicuous to us, 

 but when seen against the sky-Une at dusk by the small prey which 



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Fig. 22. Oyster -catcher, showing counter -shading and 

 ruptive pattern. 



they hunt, serve to make them invisible. The vivid black-and- 

 white patches of many shore birds (Fig. 22), the curious appendages, 

 the secant lines across the body, the odd markings of the 

 head so common in birds, serve a similar purpose. The strangest 

 and most violent patches of colour, the bright plumes, and the 

 shifting iridescences, all may help to dazzle the eye of victim or 

 enemy. We must always remember that the brightest colour- 

 schemes of an artist's canvas look pale and bleached when held 

 against the brilliant illumination and intense coloration of actual 

 outdoor nature, and colours and markings of the oddest kinds and 

 most irregular shapes may be the best disguises. 



As I have already said, it is necessary to be careful to distinguish 

 between the possible usefulness of coloration and the causes which 



