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Many organisms, to avoid being noticed, combine color and shape to create elaborate and highly effective disguises. Some have evolved uncanny likenesses to such elements of their environment as leaves and rocks. Others use color and shape in more spectacular displays simply to frighten a predator or to warn that they are poisonous. In turn, and to complicate matters for their enemies, some edible animals have evolved a striking likeness to poisonous animals that use color as a warning. Though such camouflage and mimicry is most widely and brilliantly evident among the insects—where sometimes only the experienced naturalist can see through the deception—it has also evolved in plants and several groups of vertebrates, including birds, snakes, and salamanders.

Camouflage and Mimicry describes the remarkably varied attempts of species to deceive their predators and prey. It illustrates a group of strategies which help to increase an individual's chances of survival.

Every winter, willow ptarmigan birds put on new feathery coats, softly white and perfect for hiding in snow. In the spring they take on a spotted brown more suited to nesting. This is just one of the captivating changes that take place in the Far North as animals adjust to the changing seasons. Gone Again Ptarmigan allows readers to be wilderness explorers. Following the course of a year, readers learn how the birds change their plumage, forage, and evade predators, crossing paths with many of the other creatures sharing their land. With lively acrylic illustrations and an author’s note at the end to extend learning, Gone Again Ptarmigan is a beautiful introduction to the adaptable animals of the wild North.