Brilliantly colored spots and patches follow the action of acid fumes on the vegetation near towns and factories, and such particoloured leaves often present striking resemblance to autumn foliage.
In other species of the genus, 14 to 17 in number, the bill is mostly particoloured - green, yellow, red, chestnut, blue and black variously combining so as often to form a ready diagnosis; but some of these tints are very fleeting and often leave little or no trace after death.
The third genus is represented by the continental lerot, or garden-dormouse, Eliomys guercinus, which is a large particoloured species, with several local forms - either species or races.