326 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [June, 



entirely unconfined, and wandered at will searching for its food just 

 like his wild relatives on the next hillside, with only this exception, 

 if insects, etc., were scarce, the .... bird always got additional 

 food at the house. The conditions of the experiment, therefore, 

 render it highly improbable that the hornbill was eating insects 

 which it would normally reject, and its whole demeanor was quite 

 at variance with such a supposition." 



It is apparent that experts may draw very different conclusions 

 from the same experimental data, a fact among many which points 

 to the conclusion that the results of stomach examination are the 

 only reliable criteria regarding bird food. 



Experiments in Asia. 



No experiments are more widely quoted than those performed by 

 Frank Finn while Deputy Superintendent of the Indian Museum, 

 Calcutta. Only those of Pocock are more extensive, and they were 

 performed under much more artificial conditions. The results of 

 Finn's experiments on birds are published in the Journal of the 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, as follows: 



No. I. Experiments with a Babbler (Crateropus canorus). Vol. 64, 

 1895 (1896), Pt. 2, pp. 344-356. 



No. IV. Experiments with various Birds. Summary and con- 

 clusions. Vol. 66, 1897 (1898), Pt. II, pp. 613-668. 



The birds used in these experiments were : 



Pekin robin Leiothrix luteus. 



Common babbler Crateropus canorus. 



Red-whiskered bulbul Otocompsa emeria. 



Common bulbul Molpastes bengalensis. 



Yellow-vented bulbul Molpastes leucotis. 



White-crested bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis. 



Green bulbul Chloropsis sp. 



White-eye Zosterops sp. 



Sibia Malacias capistrata. 



Mesia Mesia argentauris. 



Button quail ■.. Turnix taigoor. 



Bhimraj Dissemurus paradiseus 



King-crow Dicrurus ater. 



Shama Kittacincla macroura. 



Indian starling Sturnus menzbieri. 



Mynah Acridotheres tristis. 



Black and white hornbill Anthracoceros sp. 



The Zosterops, probably because of their small size, played a^very 



