( Ixiii ) 



in that direction, saw quite clearly sticking out from one 

 side of the bird's beak a portion of a Belenois wing, violently 

 vibrating — to be almost immediately swallowed : however, I 

 saw enough to be quite certain. What particularly appealed 

 to me was the fact that a casual observer (such as I have 

 hitherto been about birds eating butterflies) would never have 

 seen this : it had to he looked for. It's exactly as Swynnerton 

 said in his paper in the Proc. Ent. Soc, and what Trimen 

 said ('neglect of well-directed and • sustained observation'). 

 I don't in the least wonder that Selous had never seen a bird 

 eat a butterfly, for he had quite possibly never especially 

 looked for it. 



Of course I returned to that spot several times again, 

 but either the birds weren't there, or they were hunting on 

 the ground, or it was dull and there weren't many butterflies 

 about, and also the blossoms began to fade, for I didn't see any 

 more butterflies eaten. But the birds are abundant, so I live 

 in hope. I feel so much that it's ' up to us ' to produce the 

 evidence which we know is there and only wants producing ! " * 

 Dr. G. A. K. Marshall had written concerning the species 

 of bird : " From his description of the bird and its habits 

 I can have no doubt that it is the Black Cuckoo Shrike 

 {Campophaga nigra, Vieill.), a bird I knew well in Mashonaland, 

 though it was not particularly common there." 



A SUGGESTED EXPLANATION OF THE OCCURRENCE OF WET- 

 SEASON FORMS OF BUTTERFLIES IN THE MIDST OF THE DRY 



SEASON. — Prof. PouLTON Said that the suggestion contained 

 in the following extract from a letter from the Eev. K. St. 

 AuBYN Rogers was of great interest, and offered a probable 

 explanation of many puzzling irregularities. The letter was 

 dated Aug. 13, 1917, from late German East Africa. The 

 precise locality was not given, but Mr. Rogers probably wrote 

 from Kongwa on the Central Railway. 



* The following additional note has been received from Captain 

 Carpenter since the above was in type — 



" I saw another of these birds yesterday (September 17, 1917) hunting 

 about at the edge of some bush about 2.30 p.m. Several Pierines had 

 settled in the grass, as it was temporarily overcast. The bird had not 

 noticed them, when one suddenly got up, alarmed at his approach ; and 

 he darted at it, but only just missed it, and it flew away. I think it 

 was a Belenois, but couldn't be certain." 



