But the most striking example is that of the common raven, which
is a true arctic bird, and is found even in mid-winter as far north as
any known bird or mammal. Yet it always retains its black coat, and the
reason, from our point of view, is obvious. The raven is a powerful bird
and fears no enemy, while, being a carrion-feeder, it has no need for
concealment in order to approach its prey. The colour of the raven and
of the musk-sheep are, therefore, both inconsistent with any other
theory than that the white colour of arctic animals has been acquired
for concealment, and to that theory both afford a strong support. Here
we have a striking example of the exception proving the rule.
In the desert regions of the earth we find an even more general
accordance of colour with surroundings. The lion, the camel, and all the
desert antelopes have more or less the colour of the sand or rock among
which they live. The Egyptian cat and the Pampas cat are sandy or earth
coloured. The Australian kangaroos are of similar tints, and the
original colour of the wild horse is supposed to have been sandy or clay
coloured.
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