354 



lycBus Doubl. — ten butterflies in all, each of them swallowed 

 wings and all. 



" So far as the 40,000 American birds' stomachs are con- 

 cerned, if they were microscopically and thoroughly examined, 

 then they constitute a very damaging argument. If they 

 weren't, then the results of their examination are valueless in 

 relation to this particular discussion. Marshall has re-examined 

 more than one hundred of my bird-stomachs and, I believe, 

 found no additional lepidopterous remains, but I do not know 

 whether he looked for mere scales. I re-examined three during 

 the past week (all I had time for) and found remains of 

 Lepidoptera in two of them {Erithacus swynnertoni Sharpe, 

 the Chirinda Robin, and Merops apiaster L., the European 

 Bee-eater). In the case of the robin I had carefully examined 

 several fields under my little microscope before I found the 

 first scale, and it was only right at the end that I found several 

 more, as well as several minute wing-fragments, such as I have 

 commonly found in pellets. This shows the need for an abso- 

 lutely exhaustive examination of each stomach. 



" You are, of course, welcome to utilise the pellets I send 

 as you wish. Should you find them good as instances of dis- 

 guise you may care to show them or quote them when writing 

 on the subject." 



