1897.] F. Finn — Experiments with various Birds. 663 



December 16th. — I put in the cage of the Starling, which was not 

 hungry, several small butterflies, Terias, Huphina phryne, a Gatopsilia, 

 an Atella phalantha, and a small brown non-warningly-coloured species. 

 All but Atella were soon eaten. The Danais chrysippus left two days 

 ago was still in the cage. I then put in a Danais limniace, Delias 

 eucharis, and two Papilio demoleus, and soon after found all these 

 gone but the Delais eucharis, a wing or so of the D. limniace, and the 

 head of one P. demoleus. The Atella had also disappeared, all but a 

 bit of wing, but the old stale D. chrysippus still remained. 



At night, though at one period in the afternoon I found no food in 

 the cage, when I gave the bird some green insects, this D. chrysippus and 

 D. eucharis were still uneaten.. 



December 17th. — The two butterflies left overnight, and some green 

 insects, were still in the bird's cage when I put in a fine large Papilio 

 aristolochide and a P. demoleus. Immediately the bird attacked the 

 P. aristolochise and greedily swallowed it whole, and very soon after the 

 P. demoleus also. 



I then put in a Danais limniace and three P. demoleus. The bird 

 attacked the Danais first, but left it and took and swallowed a P. demo- 

 leus ; then it again attacked the Danais (possibly because it fluttered, 

 not being quite dead), and left it to eat a Papilio ; the third P. demoleus 

 then disappeared, evidently swallowed like the others. 



After having given another P. demoleus to the Starling, I gave it 

 two Junonias of different species ; these soon disappeared. 



The Starling certainly attacked the last P. demoleus before the 

 D. limniace I had put in earlier, arid apparently ate part of it. I saw it 

 attacking the Danais, however and it apparently ate part of it. But 

 I found part of it, and also parts of three P. demoleus, so that all could 

 not have been eaten whole as I thought. 



The D. chrysippus which had been so long in the cage was also 

 broken up, but the D. eucharis remained. 



1 now had the cage cleaned, and the butterflies removed. 



December 18th. — I gave the Starling, which had food by it, a 

 Papilio aristolochise, together with a P. demoleus. The bird looked at 

 the P. aristolochise and took and swallowed the other. 



I then put in a fresh P. aristolochise and an Atella phalantha. The 

 bird at once ate the Atella without noticing the P. aristolochise, and 

 then merely looked at the latter. 



I then offered a Neptis and a P. demoleus. The Starling timidly 

 advanced, seized, and swallowed the Neptis. It seemed to fear the 

 Papilio, which was not quite dead, and lay with its wings spread facing 

 the bird, which however seized and ate it as soon as it had swallowed the 

 other. 



