on 
152 I'^^Arthur G. Butler 
hungry bird to take them a second time and acquire a 
taste for them. 
To many birds, though by no means to all, the cater¬ 
pillars of Ganoris hrassicac are objectionable, and are 
systematically rejected, whereas those of G. rapae and 
7iapi are greedily eaten by all, and those of Mamesti'a 
hrassicae by most. In like manner the hairy caterpillars 
of Orgyia, S])ilosoma and Eiiprcpia are eaten by most of 
the larger birds after the longer hairs have been rubbed 
off; but the smaller birds as a rule refuse them. 
The larger Geometrid larvae are, I believe, protected 
quite as much by their thick skins as by their twig-like 
appearance and stiff immobility during the daytime. I 
have seen a bird try to break the skin of Biston hii'taria 
or TJraptoryx samlucaria by banging it on the ground ; 
but, owing to the rigidity of the long body and its lack of 
weight in proportion to its length, making no impression 
and rejecting it in disgust. Caterpillars fed upon ivy 
probably carry the rank smell of the leaves about them, 
and this may be offensive to birds apart from the flavour 
of the larvae themselves; so that the same caterpillars 
when fed upon apple would naturally be accepted without 
hesitation by a bird strong enough to break them up. 
The caterpillars of Abraxas grossulariata are usually 
rejected by birds on account of their acid or acrid flavour, 
but Mr. W. T. Page, a member of the Avicultural Society, 
found that his Weaver-birds ate them without hesitation, 
and the imago of the same species is greedily accepted by 
several birds : this may also be the case with the generally 
rejected larvae of the Cinnabar Moth, but of late years I 
have had no opportunity of testing this point. 
Most birds reject with scorn the caterpillar of Pygaera 
bucepliala, yet it is the favourite food of the Cuckoo, and 
Jays will accept it, although they do not seem to care very 
much for it; if hungry, no doubt they would eat it freely. 
I should expect all birds to eat caterpillars of Staui'opus 
fagi, on account of its somewhat spider-like aspect when 
viewed from the front; spiders are the favourite food of 
all insectivorous birds and are snatched up greedily even 
by the tiniest birds, the little Waxbills of Asia and Africa 
attacking and devouring full-grown females of Epeira 
diademala with avidity. 
For a sick insectivorous bird there is no better medicine 
than half-a-dozen good-sized spiders for two or three days 
