MIMICRY. 307 



driven away from the eyelids of those who lived near by the 

 incessant blowing of tin trumpets and firing of guns charged with 

 powder only."* 



Birds. — Ostriches, according to Mr. Cronwright Schreiner, 

 have been known to swallow oranges, peaches, small Tortoises, 

 Fowl and Turkey chickens, and kittens.t The Spreo (Spreo 

 bicolor) " was formerly never known to touch fruit, its food con- 

 sisting entirely of insects ; but during recent years it has, at all 

 events on some farms with which I am acquainted, become very 

 destructive to fruit." I Dr. A. G. Butler, who has much experi- 

 ence in aviculture, states that he has " seen the American Blue- 

 bird, the English Starling, the Kobin, Eedstart, and many other 

 insectivorous birds swallow quantities of seed, and benefit greatly 

 in consequence." § " It is within the memory of some still living 

 that the Books first commenced to eat turnips about fifty years 

 ago." || Perhaps the most remarkable case is found in the New 

 Zealand Kea or Parrot (Nestor notabilis), which has recently 

 developed a taste for a carnivorous diet. As described by Mr. 

 Wallace : " It began by picking the sheep-skins hung out to dry 

 or the meat in process of being cured. About 1868 it was first 

 observed to attack living sheep, which had frequently been found 

 with raw and bleeding wounds on their backs. Since then it is 

 stated that the bird actually burrows into the living Sheep, 

 eating its way down to the kidneys, which form its special 

 delicacy." U The absolute accuracy of this explanation of the 

 bird's intentions, has been denied by Messrs. Taylor White and 

 Huddelston, both New Zealand authorities. According to these 

 writers, "the bird settles on the sheep above the kidneys because 

 it is the broadest part, and it can there obtain the best grip of 

 the wool ; and Mr. White considers that blood rather than flesh 

 is what the bird desires.** On the island of Porto Santo, near 



* Rev. M. G. Watkins, ' Longman's Magazine,' February, 1886. 



f ' Zoologist,' 4th ser. vol. i. p. 106. 



I S. Schonland, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 155. 



§ Loc. cit. vol. i. p. 253. 



|| Wm. Wilson, Jun., ' Investigations into Applied Nature,' p. 44. 



H ' Darwinism,' p. 75. 



** ' Zoologist,' 3rd ser. vol. xix. p. 293 ; also cf. Godfrey (' Zoologist/ 

 1898, pp. 216-17). Another New Zealand Parrot (Strigops habrobtilus) has 

 lost its power of flight, and lives in burrows or other natural cavities when 

 not abroad. 



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