Chromaticity in the UV/blue range facilitates the search for achromatically background-matching prey in birds.

ABSTRACT: A large variety of predatory species rely on their visual abilities to locate their prey. However, the search for prey may be hampered by prey camouflage. The most prominent example of concealing coloration is background-matching prey coloration characterized by a strong visual resemblance of prey to the background. Even though this principle of camouflage was recognized to efficiently work in predator avoidance a long time ago, the underlying mechanisms are not very well known. In this study, we assessed whether blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) use chromatic cues in the search for prey. We used two prey types that were achromatically identical but differed in chromatic properties in the UV/blue range and presented them on two achromatically identical backgrounds. The backgrounds had either

SUBMITTER: Stobbe N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2674082 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature