Plain Cryptic Coloration in Northwoods Animals

by Kevin Strauss

While some northwoods species like goldfinches and monarch butterflies
use their bright coloration to attract a mate or warn a predator
that they taste bad, other species use coloration to stay hidden
the dangerous world of predators and prey.

Blend in or break-up

Cryptic coloration (or camouflage) whether it is for bowhunters,
Army rangers, lynx or butterflies is designed to help a creature
blend into its surroundings and to break up the creature'
s body outline. Earthtone colors like tan, brown, green and gray,
and dark lines help animals to blend in with their "
earthtone" surroundings. This way, the creature looks
more like a clump of grass or a piece of bark, not like an edible
insect or tasty mouse. In some cases, an animal will have a dark
back and light-colored belly. Scientists think that this"
counter-shading" makes the animal look more"
two-dimensional" and less like a threat or a meal.

For both predators and prey

While one might think that camouflage is only for prey species
like mice or butterflies, that isn't really the case. Predators
like owls, wolves and fishers also take advantage of coloration
that helps them hide from and sneak up on their prey.

Example animals:

Female redwing blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus)

While the male redwing blackbirds have striking jet black feathers
and bright red and yellow "shoulder patches," females have white
and brown-speckled feathers. These colors
allow redwing blackbird females (and the females of many other
"showy" songbird species) to hunker down and
hide in their brown grass nests.

Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus)

The stripped gray-brown feathers of the great horned owl help
them blend into the tree bark where they perch. That way their
mouse and rabbit prey won' t see them as the owls wait in
the trees for dinner to "hop by." The coloration
also helps owls get some shut-eye during the day. Many bird species,
including crows and bluejays will divebomb and mob sleeping owls
in their woods. But if an owl can hide next to the trunk of a
tree, it may escape notice and sleep all day long.

American grasshopper (Schistocerca americana)

Many grasshoppers are green for obvious reasons. By now, the small
"nymph" grasshoppers are almost full grown
and are large enough to see easily in lawns and meadows. While
their green bodies blend in with their grassy homes, dark lines
on their bodies break up the shape of their bodies, making them
look like a clump of grass.

When threatened, adult grasshoppers leap into the air and fly
away, sometimes making a snapping noise with their wings. That
noise is actually a territory call, warning other male grasshoppers
to keep their distance.

American toad (Bufo americanus)

The American toad is both a predator and a prey species. Its mottled
brown and black-spotted back looks much like the soil and pebbles
in its forest habitat. Toads have been know to wait motionless
until a beetle or moth ventures too close. Then, like lightning,
what seemed to be a stone or a clump of mud, shoots out its tongue
and swallows the bug whole. When threatened, a toad also stands
motionless, hoping to blend in and escape detection.

Just because we might not see animals in the forest, doesn'
t meant that they' re not there. Look carefully on your
next walk outdoors.

The Ely Timberjay