For many birds, the fight for survival begins at the egg stage: avoiding predation is
paramount. At a broad phylogenetic level, selection by predators for egg camouflage …

When animals potentially occupy diverse microhabitats, how can camouflage be achieved?
Here we combine descriptive and experimental methods to uncover a novel form of …

Camouflage is conferred by background matching and disruption, which are both affected by
microhabitat [1]. However, microhabitat selection that enhances camouflage has only been …

The diversity of eggshell colours and patterning across different birds is a fascinating
example of the extended avian phenotype. The avian egg's background colours range from …

Recent work suggests that the evolution of egg coloration may have been constrained in
three important ways that have not yet been critically synthesized in any review. First, on …

Avian egg colours and patterns are spectacularly diverse and provide a wonderful system to
study both the functional and mechanistic basis of animal colouration. In order to do this, it is …

Avian eggs differ so much in their colour and patterning from species to species that any
attempt to account for this diversity might initially seem doomed to failure. Here I present a …

Background The exceptional diversity of coloration found in avian eggshells has long
fascinated biologists and inspired a broad range of adaptive hypotheses to explain its …

Current research into the evolution and adaptive function of avian eggshell pigmentation,
including maculation, has focused mostly on signalling‐based and structural function …

RESULTS During the WKS tests the crows preyed on 33% 0 (34/IO2) of the W eggs,
37%(38/IO2) of the K eggs and 39%(40/IO2) of the S eggs (x2= 0.73, df= I, P>. 05). White …