Animal coloration patterns, from zebra stripes to bird egg speckles, are remarkably varied.
With research on the perception, function, and evolution of animal patterns growing rapidly …

Camouflage is widespread throughout the natural world and conceals animals from
predators in a vast range of habitats. Because successful camouflage usually involves …

In nature, trickery and deception are widespread. Animals and plants mimic other objects or
species in the environment for protection, trick other species into rearing their young, lure …

The coevolutionary relationships between brood parasites and their hosts are often studied
by examining the egg rejection behaviour of host species using artificial eggs. However, the …

How cuckoos find the nests of their hosts and choose nests with respect to egg phenotype
for parasitism is a long-standing puzzle that has so far not been solved. We recently …

The origins of preferences that drive the evolution of arbitrary sexual signals have been hotly
debated for more than 150 years. An emerging but little-tested theory, efficient coding theory …

Intraspecific colour variation is common in nature and can vary from the coexistence of
discrete colour variants in polymorphic species to continuous variation. Whether coloration …

Interspecific brood parasitism represents a prime example of the coevolutionary arms race
where each party has evolved strategies in response to the other. Here, we investigated …

Colouration and patterning are widespread amongst organisms. Regarding avian eggs,
colouration (reflectances) has been previously measured using spectrometers whereas …

Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in other birds' nests and impose considerable fitness
costs on their hosts. Historically and scientifically, the best studied example of circumventing …