( 25) 
But in the examination of the contents of the crops of a con- 
siderable number of birds of this species I never found one 
hairy caterpillar, though I often found one or two smooth- 
skinned caterpillars of different kinds. From this I came to 
the conclusion that these hairy caterpillars are noxious to 
birds—at any rate to the game birds I was dealing with—and 
that they are severely left alone.” 
Ixxxiv]| 
A later communication from Dr. Menteith Ogilvie contained 
the following interesting details :—‘‘I enclose a rough note on 
the contents of the crops of five blackgame. I could send 
others, but the general result was the same in all the birds shot.” 
Blackgame, Tetrao tetrix, L. Contents of crop (5 specimens). 
Barcaldine, Argyllshire. 
1. 2 Shot 17th October, 1907 (3 p.m.); crop fairly dis- 
tended. ‘‘An immense number” of galls from oak 
trees, vulgarly “‘spangle galls” (Newroterus lenticu- 
laris), probably not less than 500 of these. 
Also ‘‘an immense number ” of small dark-brown beetles, 
Lochmexa (Adimonia) suturalis of Thomson, one of the 
plant-feeding section of the Coleoptera. 
A quantity of plantain leaves, others that appeared to 
belong to some kind of mint, and only one small 
flowering head of heather. 
Shot 19th October, 1907 (4 p.m.) ; crop full. 
Plantain leaves, fully 4 of the contents. 
Heather shoots, about another }. 
A few blaeberry tops (Vaccinium myrtillus). 
Marsh Trifolium (2 or 3 leaves); a fern leaf (? Poly- 
podium alpestre). 
Many dark-brown beetles, asin of 17th October, 1907, 
but less numerous. 
One large smooth-skinned caterpillar, 1} in. long, 3 
longitudinal yellow stripes on a dark olive-brown 
ground. 
3 ¢ young. Shot 19th October, 1907 (10 a.m.) ; crop nearly 
empty. 
Seven berries of the mountain ash (Rowan), and 
bo 
Oy 
