The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-21

and aspect of the soil in the district they in
habit. The Rev H. Tristram, In his account
of the ornithology Of North Africa IN the nIsV
volume of the Gibbs" says:-"ln the desert,
where neither trees. brushwood, nor even un-
dulation of the surface afford the slightest
proteotion from its foes, modification OF color
which shall be assimilated to that OF the sur
rounding country is absolutely necessary.
Hence, without exception, the upper plumage
of every bird, whether lark, chat, SYLVAN, 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 isabelline or sand
color.' After the testimony of so able an
observer, it is unnecessary to adduce further
examples of the protective colors of desert
animals.
Almost equally striking are the cases of
arctic animals possessing the white color
that best conceals them upon snowfelds
and icebeTgs. The polar bear is the only
bear that is white and it lives constantly
among snow and ice. The arctic fox, the
ermine, and the alpine have change to white
in winter only, because in summer white
would be more conspicuous than any other
color, and therefore a danger rather than
protection; but the American polar hare,
lnhabitng regions of almost perpetual snow,
is white all the year round. Other animals
lnhabiting the same Northern regions do not,
however, change color The sable is good
example, for throughout the severity of a
Siberian winter it retains the rich brown fur.
But its habits are such that it does not need
the protection of color for it is said to be able
to subsst 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 wood
chuck of Canada has a dark-bro 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 exam
pie OF protective cooring. It's summer plumage
so exactly harmonizes with the lichen-colored
stones among which it delights to sit, that
person may walk through a flock of them
without seeing single Bird while in winter
its white plumage is an almost equal protec-
tion. The snow-bunting, the jerfalcon, and
the snowy owl are also white-colored birds
inhabiting the arctic regions, and there can be
little doubt but that their coloring is, to some
extent, protective.
Nocturnal animals supply us with equally
good illustrations. Mice, rats, bats, and moles
possess the least conspicuous of hues and
must be quite invisible at times when any
light color would be instantly seen. Owls and
goatsuckers are of those dark mottled tints
that will assimilate with bark and lichen and
thus protect them during the day, and at the
same time be inconspicuous in the dusk.
1t is only in the tropics, among forests
which never lose their foliage, that we find
whole groups of birds whose chief color is
green. The parrots are the most striking
example, but we have also group of green
pigeons in the East and the barbets, leaf
bee-eaters, white-eyes turacos, and
several smaller groups, have so much green in
their plumage as to tend greatly to conceal
them among the foliage.
The conformity of tint which has been so
far shown to exist between animals and their
habtations is of a somewhat general
ol,o H. II,
of more especial adaptation. If the lion is
enabled by his sandy color readily to con-
ceal himself by merely crouching down
upon the desert, how, it may be asked, do
the elegant markings of the tiger, the
iaguar, and the other large cats agree with
this theory? We reply that these are
generally cases of more or less special adapta-
ton. The tiger is a jungle animal and
hides himself among the tufts of grass or of
bamboos, and in these positions the vertical
stripes with which his body is adorned must
so assimilate with the vertical stems of the
bamboo, as to assist greatly in concealing
him from his approaching prey. How re-
markable it is, that, besides the lion and
tiger, almost all the other large cats are
arboreal in their habits, and almost all have
ocellated or spotted skins, which must GER
tainly tend to conceal them with back,
ground of foliage; while the one exception,
the puma, has an ashy brown uniform fur,
and has the habit of clinging so closely to
limb of a tree while waiting for his prey to
pass beneath as to be hardly distinguishable
from the bark
Among birds, the ptarmigan, already men
toned, must be considered a remarkable case
of special adaptation. Another is a South
American goatsucke (CaprimulguS rupestriS),
which rests in the bright sunshine on little
bare rocky islets in the Upper Rio Negro,
where its unusually light colors so closely
resemble the rock and sand, that it can
scarcely be detected till trodden upon.
The Duke of Argyll, in his "Reign Of Law, {"
has pointed out the admirable adaptation of
the colors of the woodcOck to its protection.
The various browns and yellows and pale ash
color that occur in fallen leaves are all repro
duced in its plumage, so that when, according
to its habit, it rests upon the ground under
trees, it is almost impossible to detect it. In
snipes the colors are modified so as to be
equally in harmony with the prevalent forms
and colors Of marshy vegetation.
Reptiles offer us many similar examples.
! The most arboreal lizards the iguanas, are as
! green as the leaves they feed upon, and the
! slender wbip-snakes are rendered almost in
visible as they glide among the foliage by a
! similar coloration. How difficult it is some-
! times to catch sight of the little green tree
! frogs sitting on the leaves of a small plant
enclosed in glass case in the Geological Gar
! dens yet how much better concealed must
they be among the fresh green damp foliage of
a marshy forest There is a North American
! frog found on liohen-cOvered rocks and walls
! which is so colOred as exactly to resemble
tn EN-, and as long as it remains quiet would
certainly escape detection. Some of the gecllos
! which cling motionless on the trunks of trees