Camouflage there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling. It is possible that some plants use camouflage to evade being eaten by herbivores. Military camouflage was spurred by the increasing range and accuracy of firearms in the 19th century. In particular the replacement of the inaccurate musket with the rifle made
Camouflage including the European nightjar select a resting position facing the sun. Eliminating shadow was identified as a principle of military camouflage during the Second World War. Many prey animals have conspicuous high-contrast markings which paradoxically attract the predator's gaze. These distractive markings serve as camouflage by distracting the predator's attention from recognising the prey as a whole, for example by keeping the predator from identifying the prey's outline. Experimentally, search times for blue tits increased when artificial prey had distractive markings. Some animals actively seek to hide by decorating themselves with materials such as twigs, sand, or pieces of shell