10 82 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



number of Carex seeds. That only demonstrates a possibility, and almost 

 everything is possible. "We need to know what is the usual food of the Teal, 

 at different times of year and in different circumstances, and which of the 

 seeds which it eats are capable of subsequent germination. "We would like to 

 know what is the food of the Teal, and what its movements, in the particular 

 district we are considering ; though even this will not, after all, help us to 

 determine what would be more important for our inquiry, namely, whether 

 there were Teal in the district, and what they ate, and how they moved, 

 say, 20,000 years ago, or after the close of the Ice Age, when possibly the 

 island was being re-colonized by vegetation. The animal world is so dependent 

 on the plant world that, if we attempt to deal with a time when the distribution 

 of plants was different from what it is at present, we must remember that the 

 distribution of animals is sure to have been different also. 

 Seeds are transported by birds in two different ways : — 



1. By being devoured, and subsequently ejected. 



2. By adhering to feathers or feet. 



The first or endozoic method concerns those birds which do not crush the 

 seeds in eating them ; and concerns the harder seeds and fruits, which are 

 protected by an impervious coat from the action of the digestive juices; 

 though it should be noted that, as pointed out by Altum 1 and others, some 

 birds (e.g. the Mistle-Thrush and Book) cast up in their pellets, prior to 

 digestion, the harder portion {i.e. stones, &c.) of fruits. The reader may also 

 consult a correspondence on the subject in Nature, 1898. 2 (See also p. 81, supra.) 

 The second or ectozoic category concerns chiefly seeds which possess barbed or 

 hooked bristles, downy hairs, a sticky surface, or other characters which cause 

 them to adhere easily ; small seeds which may be mixed with mud which 

 adheres to the feet of birds may also be included. 



Many birds feed largely on seeds, others again on juicy fruits ; and it 

 would appear from American observations that many of the most pronounced 

 insect-feeders also devour much vegetable matter. The importance of birds 

 as plant-dispersers depends largely on whether they crush and digest the 

 seeds they eat or not. On this point, Barrows 3 remarks — " The seed-eaters 

 are not the seed-planters ; on the contrary, the insectivorous birds more often 

 sow seeds than the true seed-eaters." " Seeds which simply contain nourishment 

 are eaten and destroyed, while seeds which are contained in nourishment are 

 eaten and survive." 



1 B. Altcm : Zur Verbreitung der Pflanzen durcli Yogel. Monatsschr. Deut. Ver. Sehutz der 

 Vogelwelt, xjriii, pp. 13-17. 1898. 



- John Lowe, E. M. Laxoley, Howard Fox : Nature, lix, pp. 77, 149. 1898. 

 3 W. B. Barbows : Seed-planting by Birds, he. cit., p. 281. 



