Flash Behaviour Does Not Help Rabbits Evade Human Predators
- 1Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology University of Exeter Exeter UK
Abstract
A number of otherwise cryptic species have areas on their body of conspicuous colour that are hidden while stationary but displayed when moving. A suggested function of this conspicuous colouration is for flash behaviour, in which an otherwise cryptic prey exposes obvious colours during escape to disrupt the predators' ability to locate the prey when it stops moving and hides the colour. Experimental studies of artificial prey with human and avian predators have found that flash behaviour can increase ‘prey’ survival, but this has not been comprehensively tested using real prey. European rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) display their white tail when running but are otherwise cryptic when resting or foraging. We experimentally tested whether flash behaviour inhibits detection by presenting videos of wild rabbits fleeing to human participants and manipulated the tail colour of the rabbits. We found that rabbits with unmanipulated white tails were neither more likely nor faster to be located than rabbits with tails digitally manipulated to be cryptic. This does not support the hypothesis that flash behaviour helps rabbits evade predators.
Related
- Testing The Protective Function of Flash Coloration Using Wild Avian Predators
- Processing of acceleration and dive data on-board satellite relay tags to investigate diving and foraging behaviour in free-ranging marine predators
- Human Tolerance in Romanian Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ): Access to Human Food Sources Can Lead to Changes in Bear Behaviour
- Stealth CAR-Tregs evade CD3 antibody therapy and skew immune responses toward regulation
- A unified systems model for evolution. Implications for human behaviour and survival
BibTeX
@article{chapman2026flash,
title = {{Flash Behaviour Does Not Help Rabbits Evade Human Predators}},
author = {Elisabeth G. Chapman and Zenia S. W. Wong and Samuel Ellis},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74609},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74609},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Flash Behaviour Does Not Help Rabbits Evade Human Predators
AU - Elisabeth G. Chapman
AU - Zenia S. W. Wong
AU - Samuel Ellis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74609
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74609
AB - A number of otherwise cryptic species have areas on their body of conspicuous colour that are hidden while stationary but displayed when moving. A suggested function of this conspicuous colouration is for flash behaviour, in which an otherwise cryptic prey exposes obvious colours during escape to disrupt the predators' ability to locate the prey when it stops moving and hides the colour. Experimental studies of artificial prey with human and avian predators have found that flash behaviour can increase ‘prey’ survival, but this has not been comprehensively tested using real prey. European rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) display their white tail when running but are otherwise cryptic when resting or foraging. We experimentally tested whether flash behaviour inhibits detection by presenting videos of wild rabbits fleeing to human participants and manipulated the tail colour of the rabbits. We found that rabbits with unmanipulated white tails were neither more likely nor faster to be located than rabbits with tails digitally manipulated to be cryptic. This does not support the hypothesis that flash behaviour helps rabbits evade predators.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -