Bluffing
Bluffing
Startle displays are often part of a behavior called bluffing. Bluffing is a tactic used by animals to make them “look tough” to a predator. An animal that may be completely harmless acts as if it is actually quite ferocious and possibly dangerous. A predator may back off rather than risk getting injured. Many lizards combine a startle display with a bluff. A chameleon facing a predator, for example, may suddenly turn dark as it puffs up its body to look larger. It also hisses, often revealing a brightly colored mouth. The frilled lizard of Australia confronts predators with a wide-open yellow or pink mouth. It adds to this display by opening huge flaps of skin on its neck, which are splotched with red, orange, black, and white. The big frills make the lizard look much larger and more intimidating. Another Australian lizard, the bearded dragon, likewise gapes its yellow-lined mouth and raises a beard of spiky skin under its chin. The beard also turns blue-black.
Startle displays are often part of a behavior called bluffing. Bluffing is a tactic used by animals to make them “look tough” to a predator. An animal that may be completely harmless acts as if it is actually quite ferocious and possibly dangerous. A predator may back off rather than risk getting injured. Many lizards combine a startle display with a bluff. A chameleon facing a predator, for example, may suddenly turn dark as it puffs up its body to look larger. It also hisses, often revealing a brightly colored mouth. The frilled lizard of Australia confronts predators with a wide-open yellow or pink mouth. It adds to this display by opening huge flaps of skin on its neck, which are splotched with red, orange, black, and white. The big frills make the lizard look much larger and more intimidating. Another Australian lizard, the bearded dragon, likewise gapes its yellow-lined mouth and raises a beard of spiky skin under its chin. The beard also turns blue-black.
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