1954] 
Tarshis — Hippoboscids 
59 
five to ten minutes. Laying the bird on its back in this 
manner seems to put it in a state of hypnosis, and mean- 
while the flies readily scurry under the feathers. 
Fig. 1. Fly-proof cage used for transporting quail and live flies from 
the field to the laboratory. 
Only a limited number of flies should be placed on one 
bird for each trip. One adult quail will tolerate as many 
as 15 flies of either species of hippoboscid, and a juvenile 
bird about 10 flies. Birds on which 25 or more flies were 
placed died of exsanguination. 
It was found most desirable to place only one bird carry- 
ing flies in each cage. The more birds that are kept in a 
cage the greater the risk that flies leaving the birds for 
deposition of prepuparia or for other reasons will be cap- 
tured or trampled on by the birds. Also, with more than 
one bird in a cage there is always a great deal of commotion 
which especially disturbs the gravid female flies, often 
causing them to deposit their young prematurely. If space 
is extremely limited two birds may be placed in a single 
cage, but never more. 
The cage shown in Fig. 1 has been found most suitable 
for transporting live flies on birds. It has an exactly 
1 X 1-inch fir stock framework covered on five sides with 
SHEET MEl 
TRAY 
