90 The Wilson Bulletin — No. '^9. 



Tables were also prepared to show the diilerence, if any, 

 in the character of the food procured by the two parents. It 

 was found that practically the same variety was brought by 

 each one. The male brought centipedes on two different oc- 

 casions ; and raisins, flies, and dragon flies were brought by 

 the female and never b}- the male. 



Sanitation. 



In the sanitation of the nest the birds were scrupulously 

 clean. The excreta was seized by one of the parents before 

 it touched the nest, except on two occasions, and these at the 

 latter end of the nesting period. Three interesting facts were 

 noted in connection with the passage of the excreta : viz., the 

 young birds made no attempt to void the excreta except 

 when one of the parent birds was present ; second, only one 

 of the nestlings voided the excreta at any one visit of the 

 parent birds; and third, almost always the bird fed, or if two 

 were fed, one of the two voided the excreta. The following 

 table will show this latter fact. The data for this table cov- 

 ers only the last two days and a half of observation, as no 

 means of distinguishing the birds was used until that time : 



TABLE V. 



Showing the reUitiou of feeding and the passage of excreta. 



Excreta From 



Date. from same bird as fed. some otlier bird. Total. 



June 26 12 5 17 



June 27 54 2 .56 



June 28 35 1 36 



June 29 3 3 



Totals 104 8 112 



The results of these observations seem to indicate that the 

 feeding may possibly be the direct stimulus to the voiding of 

 the excreta, as out of a possible 112 times 104 sacs of excreta 

 were removed from the nestling receiving the food at that 

 visit, while only eight were removed from different birds. 

 The parents always stopped a few seconds after feeding, pos- 



