Publications Reviewed. .303 



Europe, Experiments in America. Mammals. Mixed Groups of 

 Animals. Birds : Experiments in Europe, Experiments in Africa. 

 Experiments in Asia, Experiments in America, Experiments by 

 Judd and Beal. Summary. This whole inquiry covers 83 pages. 



Mr. McAtee calls attention to the fact that "The selectionist 

 theories regarding the significance and the causes of production 

 of the so-called warning, mimicking, and cryptic coloration long 

 preceded a knowledge of the food preferences of insectivorous ani- 

 malii sufficient to warrant such speculation," and that knowledge 

 of the food preferences "is still almost entirely lacking fdr many 

 parts of the world — including the Amazon valley, which is the 

 home of the brightly colored Heliconiid butterflies and their 

 mimics that suggested the mimicry theory to H. W. Bates." 



After a careful examination of the experiments which liave been 

 performed and reported in literature the author is led to say, "from 

 the writer's point of view, three main conclusions regarding the 

 experimental tests of the efficiency of protective adaptations against 

 natural enemies are unavoidable: (1) The experiments are very 

 inconsistent; (2) tl2ey have been misinterpreted; and (3) they are 

 not trustworthy guides to behavior under natural conditions. Hav- 

 ing no certain value in themselves, they must be checked up with def- 

 inite knowledge of the natural food habitsf. This information is 

 obtained by collecting animals with treshly captured prey and by 

 examination of pellets, castings, and the contents of stomachs or 

 other portion- of the alimentary canal. There is no possibility of 

 going back of such evidence on the choice of food, nor is there any 

 need of so doing. 



"Since this evidence is sufficient in itself, and since experimental 

 data must be supported by it to be worthy of any consideration, 

 why perform the experiments? The same time expended in collect- 

 ing trustworthy data regarding the natural food habits of animals 

 would bring nmch greater returns, and the result would be truth, 

 not imaginative inferences from abnormal behavior.^" l. j. 



P'ood of Some Well-known Birds of Poorest, Farm, and Garden. 

 By F. E. L. Beal and W. L. McAtee, Biological Survey, U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 506. Issued Sep- 

 tember 25, 1912. 



This Bulletin follows Bulletin No. 54, treating of birds that are 

 of etjual importance with those treated in the former Bulletin, 

 but the species are less widely distributed, or decidedly local in dis- 

 tribution. They are : Three-toed Woodpeckers, California Wood- 

 pecker, Lewis Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Sapsuckers, 

 Hummingbirds, Arkansas Kingbird, Western Yellow-bellied Fly- 



