RESEMBLANCES AMONG ANIMALS, 51 
American polar hare, inhabiting regions of almost 
perpetual snow, is white all the year round. Other 
animals inhabiting the same Northern regions do 
not, however, change colour. The sable is a good 
example, for throughout the severity of a Siberian 
winter it retains its rich brown fur. But its habits 
are such that it does not need the protection of 
colour, for it is said to be able to subsist on fruits 
and berries in winter, and to be so active upon the 
trees as to catch small birds among the branches, 
So also the woodchuck of Canada has a dark-brown 
fur; but then it lives in burrows and frequents river 
banks, catching fish and small animals that live in 
or near the water. 
Among birds, the ptarmigan is a fine example of 
protective colouring. Its summer plumage so exactly 
harmonizes with the lichen-coloured stones among 
which it delights to sit, that a person may walk 
through a flock of them without seeing a single 
bird; while in winter its white plumage is an 
almost equal protection. The snow-bunting, the jer- 
falcon, and the snowy owl are also white-coloured 
birds inhabiting the arctic regions, and there can 
be little doubt but that their colouring is to some 
extent protective. 
Nocturnal animals supply us with equally good illus- 
trations. Mice, rats, bats, and moles possess the least 
conspicuous of hues, and must be quite invisible at 
times when any light colour would be instantly seen. 
Owls and goatsuckers are of those dark mottled tints 
RB 2 
