A phenotype is the visible characteristics or traits that a person possesses. A dominant phenotype is the trait when passed on, you are more likely to be born with. A recessive phenotype however, is less commonly passed on from parent to child. In this picture, the dominant trait is prominent in the middle kitten simply because it is all black. The mother holds the recessive trait because her coloring was not passed on to any one of her two young either.
Advanced Biology 