SPARROWS IN CAPTIVITY. 47 
sparrow. This same species and two others, Anisodactyhis rusticus 
and Pterostichus sayi, each about a half inch in length, were repeat- 
edly offered to the song sparrow and eaten with avidity. These three 
species, though possessing the pungent secretion, are not so offensive 
as many others, hence the strength of the dose was increased, and 
two carabids of disgusting odor, and about equal in size, Nebria 
pallipes and Platynus sp., were placed in the cage. They were eaten 
with relish. Next a smaller carabid, Agonoder us pallipes, was tried. 
The song sparrow proved to be so fond of this species that he ate 
fifteen within three minutes. In order to test the strength of the 
fluid emitted by these beetles, I placed the tip of the abdomen of one 
of them against my tongue. The resulting sensation was a sour taste, 
followed by an acute burning which lasted for ten minutes. 
A few experiments were then made with the larger, more beneficial 
beetles. In three instances Harpalus pennsylvanicus was offered to 
the song sparrow, and in one case it was eaten, but with no apparent 
relish. The fact that this beetle could be eaten at all, and without 
producing any ill effects, seemed strange when it was recalled that 
once when one was accidentally mashed against my neck the spot was 
so severely blistered that the soreness lasted for three days. 
The sparrow's limit in the line of such hot food w T as found when 
another carabid (Chlcenius cestivus) was placed in the cage. He 
seized it immediately, bit it several times, and then swallowed it. In 
an instant he showed distress, lowered his beak, and attempted 
vomiting. For several seconds the muscles of his throat worked con- 
vulsively with a swallowing motion, then he made a vigorous attempt, 
which lasted for a minute, to disgorge the beetle. He next flew 
spasmodically about the cage, every now and then whetting his bill 
against the wires. At the end of five minutes he suffered most 
acutely and stood wabbling from side to side with his mouth wide 
open and the whole throat rapidly pulsating. At the end of ten 
minutes it seemed death must ensue, but in ten minutes more he was 
decidedly better, and in an hour had completely recovered. Several 
days later I put another in the cage. The song sparrow instantly 
seized it, but, quickly finding out his mistake, hastily dropped it, 
shaking his head violently and scurrying to the opposite side of the 
cage. This beetle and other larger useful species seem from these 
experiments to be safe from the attacks of sparrows, although they 
are preyed on by many species of larger birds. 
Quite a number of miscellaneous experiments were carried out with 
the song sparrow. Skin-beetles (Trox sp.), which derive their popu- 
lar name from their occurrence on hides in tanyards, and bark-beetles 
(Trogosita eceritlea), which inhabit the bark of dead trees, were eaten 
with apparent relish. A long-horned beetle (Neoclytus erijthrocepha- 
Ixs), which is supposed to mimic a wasp, was offered, and was eaten 
without hesitation. A stingless parasitic w T asp {Oplion bilineata), 
