Abstract
IN recent correspondence, Craik1 has suggested that the white plumage of gulls and some other sea-birds might be an advantage to them by rendering them less visible to the fish on which they prey. This interpretation was questioned by Pirenne and Crombie2, partly on the grounds that it is by no means certain that fish can see birds in the air, whatever their colour. This uncertainty, however, does not arise in the case of birds of prey which hunt over land, for these are undoubtedly seen by their prey. The reactions of other birds to a passing hawk have often been described. It would seem, therefore, that if a white under-surface were of adaptive value to birds which hunt against a background of sky, this form of cryptic coloration would be found among predaceous land-birds. Yet none of the eagles, hawks or owls have the pure white plumage of gulls. Some are certainly very pale on the under-surface, but there does not seem to be a greater tendency among these birds to have light-coloured under-parts than there is among other land-birds.
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References
Craik, K. J. W., NATURE, 153, 288 (1944).
Pirenne, M. H., and Crombie, A. C., NATURE, 153, 526 (1944).
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FALCONER, D. White Plumage of Sea-Birds. Nature 153, 777 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153777a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153777a0
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