The Caterpillar Defense

[Sagan]

by Carl Zimmer

Let’s say you’re a baby bird. In particular, you’re a chick belonging to the species Laniocera hypopyrra, which also goes by the elegant common name of the cinereous mourner. You hatch out of your egg and find yourself in a nest up in tree in a rain forest in Peru. You can’t fly. You can only wait for your parents to bring you food. You are, in other words, easy pickings.

So what might you do to avoid getting snatched up by a predator? Perhaps you might hold very still so as not to attract attention. Perhaps you might also grow dull, bark-colored feathers to help you blend into you background.

If you’re a cinereous mourner, however, this is not what you do. As you can see in this video, you grow brilliant orange plumage. You make yourself absurdly easy to see.



more

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....illar-defense/

[Chantellabella]

by Carl Zimmer

Let’s say you’re a baby bird. In particular, you’re a chick belonging to the species Laniocera hypopyrra, which also goes by the elegant common name of the cinereous mourner. You hatch out of your egg and find yourself in a nest up in tree in a rain forest in Peru. You can’t fly. You can only wait for your parents to bring you food. You are, in other words, easy pickings.

So what might you do to avoid getting snatched up by a predator? Perhaps you might hold very still so as not to attract attention. Perhaps you might also grow dull, bark-colored feathers to help you blend into you background.

If you’re a cinereous mourner, however, this is not what you do. As you can see in this video, you grow brilliant orange plumage. You make yourself absurdly easy to see.



more

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....illar-defense/

That was amazing! I wonder if that species evolved that way.