Snow camouflage Snow camouflage Snow camouflage is the use of a coloration or pattern for effective camouflage in winter, often combined with a different summer camouflage. Summer patterns are typically disruptively patterned combinations of shades of browns and greys, up to black, while winter patterns are dominated by white to match snowy landscapes. Among animals, variable snow camouflage is a type of seasonal polyphenism with a distinct winter plumage or pelage. It is found in birds such as the rock ptarmigan, lagomorphs such as the Arctic hare, mustelids such as the stoat, and one canid, the Arctic fox. Since these have evolved
Climate of the Arctic noon, not much energy is reaching the surface. Furthermore, most of the small amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface is reflected away by the bright snow cover. Cold snow reflects between 70% and 90% of the solar radiation that reaches it, and snow covers most of the Arctic land and ice surface in winter. These factors result in a negligible input of solar energy to the Arctic in winter; the only things keeping the Arctic from continuously cooling all winter are the transport of warmer air and ocean water into the Arctic from the south and the transfer