Birds in Relation to their Prey. 45 



second before taking it, but stretching up eagerly for the 

 second ; and he afterwards bowed to me steadily for nearly 

 a minute, with the latter in his bill, before swallowing it. I 

 offered another to C, but A leaned over and snatched it away 

 before she could reach it and at once ate it, afterwards readily 

 eating two Precis artaxia in succession and a Precis madagas- 

 cariensis, all without wings, and two more of the last-named 

 species with wings (turned to show the eye-spots). Two more 

 without wings were eaten, one by B and one by C, and one 

 ivith wings was taken by ( ;. After a great deal of trouble she 

 stripped off the wings, but accidentally dropped the butterfly* 

 She at once descended and made a great search for it, failing, 

 however, to find it. 



A ignored absolutely a Danaida ch^i/sijjpus with wings, 

 reached up and examined a Byhlia with suspicion, and retired 

 again. On my reofFering it, body first and with only one 

 land wing still attached, he tasted, it and readily swallowed 

 it, regarded with suspicion an Atella phalantha with its 

 b]-ight fulvous-orange upper surface displayed, but took it 

 and nearly stripped it of wings, then dropped it. Reoffered, 

 he tasted and this time swallowed it. 



Now, very curiously, he accepted a Danaida chrysippus 

 with wings, without apparently much more hesitation than 

 in the case of the Atella — perhaps his experiences here may 

 have suggested to him that he was sometimes wrong in his 

 suspicions ! — stripped it slowly of its wings, and finally 

 dropped it- I offered another. This A partly stripped of 

 wings, running it time after time through its bill. Even- 

 tually, to my surprise, he swallowed it. C, wdio had been 

 watching her father eat it, with some hesitation accepted one 

 too, stripped it of wings and swallowed it. A reached up to 

 an Acrcea acara with wings that I now offered, examined it, 

 and at once sank back and refused to have anything to do 

 with it. On my persistently reofFering it, however, he 

 allowed himself to be persuaded. He took the butterfly, 

 partly stripped it of wings, and swallowed it. B also fell a 

 victim to my blandishments. She partly stripped a P. chry- 

 sippus and ate, at all events, the abdomen, leaving the greater 

 part of the thorax. 



