Black and white is a bold sartorial combination that is always likely to turn heads – which is often the whole point of it. We take a look at the different reasons why animals are black and white.
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Why are animals black and white?
Take skunks, which are as well known for their black-and-white stripes as for the noxious concoction they squirt from their anal glands. These two defining features are not unconnected. It is thought that the stripes serve as an aposematic signal – that is, one that warns would-be assailants that the signaller is armed and dangerous.
There have long been suspicions that the plumage of magpies also serves an aposematic function, advertising the birds’ unpalatability to hawks and other raptors. But experiments have found that their eye-catching appearance attracts avian predators rather than deters them.
Another theory is that it facilitates species recognition in these gregarious birds. Or it might be used to signal an individual’s quality to potential mates. A problem with that idea, though, is that non-breeding juveniles have the same colour scheme as the adults, so they would be carrying the costs of their conspicuousness while reaping none of the benefits.
A role for sexual signalling is perhaps more convincing in the case of the pied flycatcher, a species in which males compete among themselves for the attention of multiple females. While females and juveniles are brown and inconspicuous, adult males are decked out in a striking monochrome pattern, and only during the breeding season.
Why are so many seabirds birds black and white?
Many seabirds, from gulls to guillemots and puffins to penguins, are black and white. The darker shades often occur on their upper surfaces and the lighter ones on their undersides, an arrangement known as countershading. This provides camouflage both from above, against a dark sea, and from below, against a bright sky.
Why are giant pandas black and white?
Similarly – and perhaps counterintuitively – the big blotches of black and white decorating giant pandas and Malayan tapirs can make them harder to spot in their forest habitats. From a distance, the patterns break up the animal’s outline, while at closer range they provide camouflage against a backdrop of patchy forest light.
Why are zebras black and white?
Which leaves perhaps the most iconic of all black-and-white animals. It’s still far from clear why the zebra has its stripes. There is no shortage of theories, including camouflage among tall grasses, temperature regulation in strong sunlight, and optical illusions that dazzle predators, causing them to mistime their attacks. There is also good evidence for the idea that the stripes are a defence against biting flies, possibly because the patterns prevent the insects locating the underlying blood vessels.
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Main image: giant panda at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, China/Getty