Introduction -- Background matching -- Disruptive coloration -- Countershading -- Shape & colour -- The reasons for certain patterns -- Hide & seek -- Acknowledgements & image credits -- Index
Summary:
This beautifully illustrated book on camouflaged animals includes some of nature's greatest designs and is one of the most remarkable compilations of pictures on the subject ever published. These images have to be seen to be believed in terms of the subjects' remarkable imitations of their natural backgrounds which often aid them in their roles as hunting predator or prey attempting to avoid capture. Types of animal covered include invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds and all kinds of marine wildlife. The text, written by the expert authors and photographers, explains what is shown in each picture, giving insight from the actual observations. Subjects include colour-changing chameleons and fish, birds which look like tree branches, eggs which blend with their sand or gravel background, butterflies which perfectly imitate leaves, crab spiders which mimic the bright petals of their chosen bloom and Snow Leopards which merge seamlessly with the slopes on which they stalk their prey. Decades of work by the award-winning photographers are distilled down into this remarkable and eye-caching book.
