Camouflaged Creatures
View allAll Photos Tagged Cryptic
Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, is a defense or tactic that organisms use to disguise their appearance, usually to blend in with their surroundings. Organisms use camouflage to mask their location, identity, and movement. This allows prey to avoid predators, and for predators to sneak up on prey.
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11 different photos
As its name suggests, the Cryptic Wood White butterfly is very difficult to distinguish from the Wood White. This species only occurs in Ireland, where it is widespread. It was discovered to be different from the Wood White in 2001 and, more recently, its identification was changed again to this new name. The Wood White is very similar, but seems to be restricted to the Burren region in Ireland.
This example of Cryptic Wood White was one of many seen along the banks of the River Barrow in County Kilkenny.
Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.
Trinidad
Golden tegus are one of the largest land based lizards in South America. Their thick body is covered with glossy scales that are striped with orange and black. They have a thick tail which makes up as much as half of their body length.
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Cryptic colouring provides the Grayling with excellent camouflage, making it difficult to see when at rest on bare ground, tree trunks, or stones. The wings are kept closed when not in flight and the forewings are usually tucked behind the hind wings, concealing the eyespots and making the butterfly appear smaller. In flight this is a distinctive, large butterfly with a looping and gliding flight, during which the paler bands on the upperwings are visible.
Taken at The Bog, Stiperstones,
Shrewsbury
The Cryptic Wood White only occurs in Ireland. It was discovered to be different from the Wood White in 2001 and, more recently, its identification was changed again to this new name. The Wood White is very similar, but seems to be restricted to the Burren region in Ireland.
The upperwings are white with rounded edges. The males have a black mark in the edge of the forewing. The undersides are white, with indistinct grey or greenish markings.
Cryptic Plumage
Brown Creepers can seem to disappear against a tree trunk as they move up from base. I like the feather detail in this shot which is best seen if the zoom tool is used.
Edmonton, Alberta
Please, no invitations to award groups or to those with large/animated comment codes.
A small olive-gray honeyeater with a circular pale yellow cheek patch and a relatively fine bill. Can be confused with Lewin’s Honeyeater and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, but note the shape of the cheek patch: crescent-shaped on Lewin’s Honeyeater and oval on Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Adults also have a blue-gray eye while Lewin’s has a bluish eye and Yellow-spotted has a brown eye. Voice is a key ID feature—often a single short note rather than the loud repeated whistle of Yellow-spotted or the rapid staccato machine-gun call of Lewin’s. One of three easily confusable species found in far northern Queensland. Common in many wetter lowland habitats in wetter parts of northern Queensland. Formerly considered conspecific with Graceful Honeyeater, but no overlap in range. (eBird)
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A throwback to our birding trip in Australia in 2022. This lovely little honeyeater was one that we had to study for, to ensure that we ID'd it correctly. Luckily, he posed nicely for us so that we clearly see his identifying marks.
Kingfisher Park Birdwatcher's Lodge, Tablelands, Queensland, Australia. October 2022.
Eagle-eye Tours - Eastern Australia.
Sorry to be cryptic yesterday and thanks for the good wishes. I'm not really into sharing my problems (with anyone!) so I'll just say I'm trying to deal with some demons and make some changes in my life.
It's been an up and down day today - I'm trying to take each day as it comes.
Island Of Madagascar
Off the East Coast of Africa
Palmarium Reserve
This chameleon is well camouflaged in its native habitat.
Calumma crypticum, commonly known as the cryptic chameleon, is a species of chameleon found in Madagascar. The species is endemic to Madagascar and has a broad latitudinal distribution between the Anosy Mountains in the south and the Tsaratanana Massif in the north.
It is a forest chameleon that occurs in mid-altitudes between 1,050 and 1,850 m elevation, where it appears to be more abundant in semi-open areas associated with trails, gaps and rivers.
The chameleon species is only found in humid forest and the loss or severe degradation of these habitats due to agricultural conversion and logging is a threat, especially outside of protected areas. – Wikipedia
Cryptic heron of freshwater marshes in tropical lowlands. Usually in areas with tall grasses or rushes, rarely in open situations. When alarmed, often freezes motionless with neck upstretched. The neck is finely barred horizontally, but the body plumage is vertically streaked (not horizontally barred and banded, as on immature tiger-herons). Compare with immature night-herons, which have streaked, not finely barred necks. (eBird)
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One of our target birds at the wetlands was this bittern. As with any bittern, it can be hard to find but after just a few minutes scanning, I spotted it in the grass a few hundred metres from us. I was so excited - it was on my lifer wish list for the trip and to find it so easily was a dream. The biggest problem was getting the rest of the group on to it as there were few landmarks to help guide the eyes. Eventually we all got excellent views.
Here’s the link to our Costa Rica trip list: ebird.org/tripreport/477692
Medio Queso Wetland, Alajuela, Costa Rica. February 2026.
Eagle-Eye Tours.
(I couldn't help myself....)
The crypt in Lund Cathedral - architecturally rather untouched since 1123 when the altar in the crypt was consecrated (the main altar up in the church was consecrated in 1145). But the graves on the floor are a later addition - they are Renaissance, and moved here in the 19th century renovations, they used to in the floor up in the church.
â“’Rebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
Island of Madagascar
Off The East Coast of Africa
Peyrieras Madagascar Exotic Reserve
Uroplatus lineatus is a gecko which is found in eastern Madagascar and on the island Nosy Bohara. These geckos live on trees in tropical rain forests and on bamboo plants. They reach a total length of 270 mm or 10.63 in. Threats to this species are posed by deforestation and illegal pet trade.
Leaf-tailed or Uroplatus geckos are one of Madagascar's most unique species. These moderate- to large-sized geckos rely on cryptic coloration as they sleep with their heads downward, flattened against tree trunks and adjusting their body coloration to their surroundings.
Inactive during the day, Uroplatus geckos move only when disturbed. They respond to prodding with an impressive display of a brightly colored gaping mouth and an erect tail. At night they hunt insects. – Wikipedia
The Cryptic Wood White only occurs in Ireland. It was discovered to be different from the Wood White in 2001 and, more recently, its identification was changed again to this new name. The Wood White is very similar, but seems to be restricted to the Burren region in Ireland.
The upperwings are white with rounded edges. The males have a black mark in the edge of the forewing. The undersides are white, with indistinct grey or greenish markings.
Well, the 'Bombus terrestris group' of Bumblebees has four kinds that are very difficult to distinguish from each other; hence my 'cryptic'. First I thought perhaps Olymp's Bee was a 'Cryptic', which in Dutch is known as the Wilgenhommel, Willow Bumblebee. My patch of Ground Ivy happened to be directly under a copse of Willows. But looking more carefully at my insect I though its tongue was rather too long for the Cryptic Bumblebee. So then I thought perhaps 'Lucorum', or even specific 'Terrestris'. But I just couldn't choose. So I'll just leave you with the general name of Bombus terrestris, which covers for four very similar Beasties.
Tiny, cryptic woodland songbird, unique in North America. White below and streaked brown-and-buff above; blends into tree bark very easily. Also note narrow, decurved bill and long tail. In flight, shows a bold buffy wing stripe. When foraging, often starts near the base of a tree trunk, hitches upward in short, jerky motions until it nears the top, then flies to the base of a nearby tree to begin the process again. Found in mature woodland, especially with conifers. Often joins mixed flocks with other songbirds, especially in winter. Listen for high, thin calls and sweet cascading song. (eBird)
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Walking along the trail, we heard the call of the creeper, so began the usually fruitless attempt to actually see it. A hint of motion and there it was on this huge old tree. Then the attempt to photograph it. For a change, I was successful and got a couple of shots as it searched under the branch for lunch.
Andrew Haydon Park, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. September 2023.
The attractive, arresting, pleasing, and also the cryptic and camouflaged patterns of butterflies and moths are the ancestral form of pointillism, a style of painting that reached its zenith around 1890. But butterflies and moths were perfecting this art form 300 million to 100 million years ago, using colored scales rather than dots of color.
See the antecedent to pointillism by zooming in on this lichen moth, Leuconycta diphteroides (I think), which uses black, white, grey and green scales to accumulate a convincing likeness of a lichen. Not a bad imitation of rough concrete, either.
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Location: Selangor.
Length: A tiny frog, 30 to 35 mm (1.2 to 1.4 inches) in snout-vent length.
Found during our monthly night walk with visitors.
Cryptic night bird, more often heard than seen. Listen for namesake song, a whistled "whip-poor-WILL," repeated endlessly. Found in forests, often with a mixture of pines and deciduous trees with open areas nearby for foraging. Forages for flying insects from the ground at night. Intricately patterned with gray, brown, and black. Similar to Chuck-will's-widow but with smaller head and shorter wings and tail. Eastern and Mexican Whip-poor-wills were recently split into separate species; they differ mainly in voice and do not overlap in range.
This bird was caught in a major storm overnight. The tree branch it was sitting on broke, and it ended up on the ground.
Bronte Bluffs Park, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. May 2018.
I didn't take this photo intending to do anything with it. It was taken in store even, but I got inspired to see if I could edit it in photoshop. This was the result.
Cryptic messages in this long abandoned farmhouse have some roots in reality....Happy window Wednesday everyone!
Squat, cryptically-plumaged shorebird with a very long bill. Inhabits a wide range of wetland habitats, from damp meadows to saltmarshes. Mostly inconspicuous, feeding in muddy ground by probing with its bill, usually near reeds or other grassy cover. Often not seen until flushed, when it usually rises from fairly close range with a rough rasping call. Breeding birds are more conspicuous, perching on fence posts. In display flight, birds stoop from high overhead and produce a pulsating, bleating sound from air passing through their fanned tail. In Asia, beware of extremely similar Pin-tailed, Swinhoe's, and Latham's Snipes, all of which lack the white trailing edge of Common and have a slower, less erratic flight. (eBird)
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Another Dubai visitor, this snipe was probing the grassy areas through the wetland. I'm always pleased to see a snipe out in the open like this.
Ras al-Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, Dubai, UAE. March 2024.
Island Of Madagascar
Off The East Coast Of Africa
Palmarium Reserve
Two Chameleons Cryptic Chameleon (Calumma crypticum) And O'shaughnessy's Chameleon (Calumma oshaughnessyi) side by side on a branch at the reserve.
O'Shaughnessy's chameleon (Calumma oshaughnessyi) is a species of chameleon endemic to Madagascar. It was named after the British poet and herpetologist Arthur O'Shaughnessy.
O'Shaughnessy's chameleon has a range of about 18,000 square kilometers throughout the southeastern portion of the central highlands of Madagascar. Its distribution extends from Tsinjoarivo, Ambatolampy in the north to Andohahela National Park in the south. The species is highly dependent on intact, humid forest as its habitat, living in lower densities on selectively logged territories.
Calumma crypticum, commonly known as the cryptic chameleon, is a species of chameleon found in Madagascar.
The species is endemic to Madagascar and has a broad latitudinal distribution between the Anosy Mountains in the south and the Tsaratanana Massif in the north.
It is a forest chameleon that occurs in mid-altitudes between 1,050 and 1,850 m elevation, where it appears to be more abundant in semi-open areas associated with trails, gaps and rivers.
The chameleon species is only found in humid forest and the loss or severe degradation of these habitats due to agricultural conversion and logging is a threat, especially outside of protected areas.
A cryptically patterned Senegal Thick-knee seeks cover in long grass near Brenu Beach in Ghana, West Africa. The Senegal Thick-knee is a stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae. It is a resident breeder in Africa between the Sahara and the equator, and in the Nile valley.
Thanks for your visit… Any comment you make on my photograph is greatly appreciated and encouraging! But please do not use this image without permission.
5 pictures of a day full of surprises:
www.ticklebear4u.com/2013/10/oh-happy-day-282365-days-30....
:)
Cryptic colouration.
Another bathtub blind shot. Yesterday I was delighted to catch a Fox Sparrow on my deck rail. I also had a brief visit from this Brown Creeper when it flew to the Oak behind the deck. It is the first time I have photographed one in my yard.
I enjoyed reading the humorous comments about my bathtub blind and the images that such a name conjures up.
I assure you I am fully clothed when I take these shots. I don't want to scare the birds.
Edmonton, Alberta.
A few days ago I posted a shot of a Coyote trotting through a fresh coating of snow in Grand Teton National Park. About five minutes prior to that shot, I had been photographing a herd of bison when I heard the familiar call of a Long-billed Curlew. The bird blended in to the setting so well it took me a while to spot it. The curlew's camouflage is impressive in any grassy setting but even more so with a dusting of snow. Once I finally spotted it, I was able to get a few shots before it flew off.
Cryptic enough to meld into the limbs of trees, this ghoulish bird (here seen with chick) will eat bats and small birds in addition to insects. A Lifer seen on a "field birding" (vs. "feeder birding") trip to Colombia in the Casanare region. Hato La Aurora.
Of all the butterflies I enjoyed pursuing through he lovely Romanian meadows this, the Wood White, gave me the greatest challenge. For more than half a day I followed its slow wing flaps up hill and down again, willing it to settle. Teasingly, it invariably moved on after a promising airborne pause. Our time in the meadows drawing to a close, this small, dainty female finally settled.
The Wood White always sits with closed wings so that only the undersides are visible but I have included a record shot of its upperwings as it fluttered low showing the lack of black wing tip present in males. Female Wood White fly only half as frquently as males (Thomas & Lewington) and are therefore seen less often.
Thank you all for your kind responses.