Birds in Relation fo tlieir Prey. 59 



violently from the forceps and swallowed them. No further 

 bad results were visible. 



Meantime, B was oreatly annoyed at not being given any 

 Acrpeas. She did actually .<t»u<ff/( two (^1. acara) and swallow 

 them, but without visible after-effects. She then ate two 

 wingless Chara.ves hrutiis and one wingless C. candiope. 



T have little doubt that A overstepped the safety-point, 

 whether this be high or low for these Acrfeas relatively to 

 these birds. 



522. Feb. 19. — Twelve large Acrpeas (nafalica, acara, 

 aneoiosa, and areca), of both sexes, were eaten by the Horn- 

 bills. No apparent after-effects. The last seven were offered 

 as I came across them in sorting out the day's catch, so that 

 there was a probable average lapse of several minutes between 

 each — enough to spoil an experiment on a rapidly-digesting 

 bird. 



523. Feb. 21. — I gave A after a number of locusts five 

 Acrwa acara (two males, three females), fifteen minutes later 

 two male A. natalica, and five minutes later again a male 

 A. areca. All (with wings) were snapped up and eaten with 

 avidity. No hesitation and no visible after-effects. 



524. Feb. 24. — A ate greedily and without visible after- 

 effects a gravid female A. acara and two male .1. natalica. 



525. Feb. 25. — A ate in succession, as usual alive and with 

 wings, a female Acra'a areca, two male ^4. natalica, and a 

 female .4. acara, just refused by the Roller [C. garrulus) and 

 Kingfisher {H. cyanoleucus). No visible dislike or after- 

 effects. 



526. Feb. 27. — A ate, alive and with wings, five male 

 A. 7tatalica and one male A. areca — eleven laro-e Acrreas in 

 all — with avidity. 



Twenty minutes later, v/ith equal avidity, a male ^1. 

 natalica and a female A. ccnemosa. 



Fi\e minutes later a male and a female A. natalica, the 

 latter with marked hesitation. 



Five minutes later again a male A. acara and an A. 

 anemosa, the first readily, the second with some little hesita- 

 tion. Then, with increasing hesitation, a female and a male 



