96 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



the matter wholesale. This brings us to the con- 

 sideration of the power of some birds of eating, un- 

 harmed, food which would be not merely repulsive 

 but poisonous to ourselves, and even to other birds. 

 For instance, the poisonous nature of the skin- 

 secretion of toads is well known ; yet I have known 

 the common toad {Bufo vulgaris) eaten with 

 impunity by the Laughing Jackass, and the Indian 

 toad {B. melanostictus), which I never saw touched 

 by Kites or Crows, by the Crow-Pheasant or 

 Coucal, Pied Hornbill {Anthracoceros malabaricus) 

 and Indian Roller {Coracias indica) ; the last two 

 birds, it is true, were in captivity, but the Coucal, 

 which was a hand-reared one, I allowed to range 

 free ; but merely being in captivity will not make 

 every bird eat so nauseous a mouthful as a toad, 

 although under such conditions birds will often eat 

 animals which are only moderately unpalatable, like 

 some " warningly-coloured " insects. 



Bee-eaters eat wasps, as well as bees, and are 

 probably immune to the sting, though the crushing 

 process to which they subject their prey may put 

 this out of action. The Laughing - Thrushes 

 (Garrulax group), in captivity at any rate, rub 

 these stinging creatures against their own tail- 

 feathers before eating them, and the Pekin Robin 

 (Liothrix luteus), a smaller member of the same 

 group of Babblers, treats black ants (red ones it will 

 not eat) in a similar way. The object is no doubt 

 to wipe off the acid exuded, for a lady fancier 

 recorded in one of the bird-fanciers' papers some 



