EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Eastern Screech Owl. Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, is a defense or tactic that organisms use to blend in with their surroundings. Background matching is perhaps the most common camouflage tactic. The feathers on this eastern screech owl, for instance, almost perfectly match the bark on trees it sits in.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cryptic coloration may be similar all-over color, like a polar bear in snow. The snowshoe hare, rusty brown in the summer, changes to white in winter. Counter shading is a clever form of crypsis where an animal has different colors on its back and underside.

Detailed explanation-3: -Some poisonous snakes and frogs are brightly colored. Bees, which are known for their stings, often have bold stripes of yellow and black. Predators may avoid these animals because they have learned to associate bright colors with pain. Some harmless animals have the same colors as dangerous or bad-tasting animals.

Detailed explanation-4: -Amphibians, i.e. salamanders, frogs and caecilians show a wide range of bright colours in combination with contrasting patterns.

Detailed explanation-5: -The poisonous coral snake and the harmless king snake can look a lot alike. Predators will avoid the king snake because they think it is poisonous. This type of mimicry is called Batesian mimicry. In Batesian mimicry a harmless species mimics a toxic or dangerous species.