"450 The Robin's Food. [ July, 
them. The delay necessitated by these operations made the time 
of feeding very long and tedious. When I puta live beetle down 
his throat he would swallow it, but would exhibit such evident 
signs of distress that I decided that this process was cruel and 
unnecessary. I then found that by excision of the prothorax 
and the removal of the elytra that the operation of feeding was 
much facilitated. When the beetles were treated in this manner, 
he would eat from eight to fifteen as fast as I could prepare them. 
After this he would take a few sips of water and return to his 
perch, lapse into silence,.close his eyes and remain motionless for 
about fifteen minutes, when he would suddenly become very 
active and sprightly, hopping about the cage and chirping with 
much animation. I soon learned that this activity indicated that 
_ he was ready for another supply of bugs if offered to him. 
From the date of his retention upon an exclusively coleopter- 
-ous bill-of-fare the change was marvelous. His feathers grew 
rapidly, he increased in size and cheerfulness, he became more 
‘tractable and would allow himself to be petted and handled; but 
unless he was pressed by hunger he would not touch an earth 
worm. His mental faculties—if such they may be called—also 
developed rapidly. He would recognize me in the distance as I 
approached and would fly to the end of the cage nearest me, 
calling out in an eager excited note, and would try to get through 
the wires of the cage. 
He seemed to know that he was about to be fed, when he saw 
the bottle with its store of beetles, and would scream with delight 
when I approached with it in my hand. 
After I had given him three or four he would mount his perch 
and wait until I could prepare another, all the while watching the 
operation with evident interest. He would throw back his head 
and open his mandibles to their fullest extent to receive the prof- 
fered beetle from my fingers. His appetite knew no bounds. I 
was astonished at his voracity. Every day he consumed from 
forty to fifty of the large beetles commonly known as “June 
bugs.” One morning at seven o'clock I gave him fifteen; I 
returned from the office at 12 o’clock, and from that time until 
sunset that evening I fed him all he could eat. During this time 
he disposed of seventy-two of the large beetles! I have no 
doubt if I had fed him during the morning he would have eaten 
a hundred! 
