88 



ANIMALS OF LAND AND SEA 



the open, take to the woods to avail themselves of the abun- 

 dance of new food. The English sparrow, for instance, and 

 near the coast the gulls and terns for a few weeks become more 

 or less of woodland denizens, subsisting for the time being 



almost entirely on 

 these insects. 



Many birds are 

 very enterprising in 

 discovering new 

 foods, or in adopting 

 them from other 

 birds, especially when 

 introduced into new 

 surroundings. New 

 Zealand has no mam- 

 mals except for a few 

 bats. Just how one 

 of the large native 

 parrots there ac- 

 quired the propensity 

 for eating the kidney 

 fat of sheep is not 

 quite clear. But the 

 slowness, clumsiness 

 and stupidity of the 

 larger parrots when 

 compared with most 

 other birds seems to 

 be combined with a 

 habit of trying any- 

 thing that looks 

 edible, in correlation 

 with a flexibility of habit in other ways. Perhaps it should 

 be mentioned that tame parrots will readily eat an extra- 

 ordinary variety of substances, and are often very fond of 

 meat. English sparrows ordinarily will not eat sunflower 



Figs. 93-98. Six destructive moths. 

 For explanations of the figures see p. xiv. 



