Many Arctic animals, this need for camouflage is met by an uncanny ability to change their color to white almost overnight. Here’s a look at 5 animals that possess this amazing ability.

Starting in September, the Arctic Fox sheds its brown coat, opting instead for a white one to help it through the inter. As summer begins to approach again, the white coat is once again replaced with a brown one, allowing it to hide better in the earthy tones of its habitat.

The Arctic hare are brown with flecks of black during the summer, they turn a pure white during the winter months. This not only helps them keep warm but provides much needed camouflage in the snow when they come out of their nests or burrows.

The Ptarmigan, or Rock Ptarmigan is a popular game bird that molts from brown to white with the exception of the tail which retains its original color of brown or black. These birds prefer higher elevations and are often found perched in rocks or sitting in the snow (hiding) than in trees where they could be spotted easily in the winter.

The Caribou alternates between brown and white, but it is never wholly one or the other. In the summer time it is predominantly brown , while in the winter, the white spreads and becomes clearer though the brown never completely goes away.

The Ermine is the smallest member of the weasel family, now found all over the Arctic regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.

Some animals undergo color changes with a change in seasons. Certain mammals and birds that live in cold climates, for example, have white fur and feathers in the winter so they can blend in with the snow and be less noticeable to their predators. Some songbirds will grow brightly colored, attractive feathers for the mating season. Those feathers are replaced by duller colors after mating is over. These color changes are also caused by pigment cells, located beneath the fur or feathers.

http://www.answers.com/topic/w...animals-change-color

One of the biggest shifts in an animal's surroundings occurs with the changing of the seasons. In the spring and summer, a mammal's habitat might be full of greens and browns, while in the fall and winter, everything can be covered with snow. While brown coloration is perfect for a summer wooded environment, it makes an animal an easy target against a white background. Many birds and mammals deal with this by producing different colors of fur or feathers depending on the time of year. In most cases, either changing amounts of daylight or shifts in temperature trigger a hormonal reaction in the animal that causes it to produce different biochromes.

http://animals.howstuffworks.c...imal-camouflage2.htm

Here is ermine in the summer

Thank you for the post Inda.

It is quite amazing how animals can change colour to blend in with their surroundings.
This is another mystery of creation.

Love,
yoko

Thank you for the informative post Inda.
Nature is quite amazing.

Sincerely,
Gisele

Thank you for this very informative post and images.
It is amazing how the animals can blend in with their surroundings, and how they change colour with the seasons to avoid being detected.

Love,
Vicky

Thank you all for your replies.
Creation is a mystery, indeed.

Love, Inda

Ptarmigan before it turns white

Thanks Teo.

Looks just like you.