Genes that control feather color in some animals are expressed differently in the winter than in the summer. How might such a difference be beneficial to the ptarmigan bird?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Ptarmigan bird phisiology

anonymous · Answer

The answer lies in camouflage: ptarmigan are white in winter and so blend in with their snowy surroundings. This means they are less likely to get eaten by predators. They go back to being brown in summer and so they blend in with their surroundings again.