34 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



and some of the terrapins and turtles, so there are 

 certain families of birds, and sub-groups of other 

 families, which are mainly vegetarian in diet, as 

 implied above. Some of these groups are large 

 ,or important, and therefore well-known, such as 

 Parrots, Pigeons, Game-birds, Finches, Cranes, and 

 Geese ; among small and less famiUar groups of 

 vegetable- eating proclivities are Ostriches and all 

 the other giant flightless birds — Epius, Cassowaries, 

 and Rheas, their relatives the Tinamous (thte 

 "Partridges" of South America), the Seed-Snipes 

 {Thinocorythidtg), the Sand-Grouse, the Screamers 

 (Palamedeida), and among the less familiar perchers' 

 the Touracous or Plantain-eaters (Musophagida), 

 the Colies or Mouse-birds ifioliida), and the 

 nectar-sucking Humming-birds. 



Many if not all of these take more or less insect 

 or other animal food as well ; there seems to be no 

 group of any size so purely addicted to vegetable 

 food as certain of the animal-feeding families or 

 groups are to an animal diet. Such pure animal 

 feeders are especially to be found among those 

 wnich take larger prey than insects, especially the 

 xish-eaters ; Gannets, Cormorants, Pelicans, and the 

 Frigate- and Tropic-birds seem to be purely animal- 

 feeders, though the Gulls, and even the oceanic 

 Petrels, take some vegetable food. 



The " birds of prey," as one would expect, are 

 generally purely carnivorous or insectivorous, though 

 some Vultures will eat fruit ; the South-American 

 Vultures feed on palm-fruits, and the Egyptian 



