^fr. ]|. ]. Poeoclc on a new Specie>i o/Rliax. 473 



1st October, 

 Caterpillar of Mamestra persicarue offered to Wryneck ; 

 licked, but rejected ; immediately eaten bj Nightingale. 



2nd October. 

 Quedius eaten by Leiothrix. 



3rd October. 

 Caterpillar of Mamestra jyersicarice rejected (as too large to 

 swallow) by Wryneck ; eaten at once by Nightingale. 



5th October. 

 Caterpillar of Spilosoma menthastri eaten by Blackbird. 



After this date nothing occurred worth recording, as I 

 found it difficult to obtain insects of any kind with the excep- 

 tion of mealworms and a few house-flies. 



It is noteworthy, from an examination of the above records, 

 that no insect in any stage excepting the red-tailed humble- 

 bee (which, by the way, I only offered to the Missel-Thrush) 

 was rejected by all 'my birds ; those insects which were 

 refused by certain species were eagerly devoured by others, 

 so that it was impossible to conclude that any of them enjoyed 

 perfect immunity from destruction. In the second place, so 

 far from my birds learning by experience to reject with scorn 

 that which they had proved to be unpalatable, I found that 

 in some instances they seemed to acquire a taste for larvjB 

 previously refused. Birds are very intelligent, but their 

 memories are ridiculously short. 



LX. — A neiv Species o/Rhax. By R. I. PocOCK, 

 of the British Museum (Natural History). 



RJiax semijlava, sp. n. 



Clothed with more or less golden hairs. 



Colour. — The cephalic plate and chelicerge chocolate-brown ; 

 thoracic membrane white ; sides of the abdomen paler brown ; 

 first five abdominal tergites dark brown on the upper surface ; 

 the succeeding four tergites pale testaceous above ; the anal 

 somite wholly blackish ; under surface of the body wholly 

 testaceous. Legs mostly testaceous ; the maxillary palpi with 

 chocolate-brown tarsus and metatarsus ; the first pair of legs 

 with brown terminal segment ; dactyli of cheliceras and oculai- 

 tubercle black. 



Chelicerce. — Movable digit bearing a minute tooth in 

 front of the large principal tooth, and with a single small 



Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 6. Vol. iv. 34 



