526 
BIONOMIC NOTES 
At our hotel at Kandy were two Mainas ( Cr acula ), talking birds 
of the Starling family ( Sturnidae ). These birds, which were very 
tame, were confined in two fairly roomy cages three or four yards 
apart. I will call the birds A and B. 
None of the butterflies offered to the birds was stiff; all had 
been killed earlier in the same day. 
January 19, 1908. Bird A was given 5 dead butterflies in the 
following order :— Atella phalantha , Polyommatus baeticus, 
Loxura arcuata, Neptis varmona , Telchinia violae. The bird 
gave the Loxura a few pecks and then let it alone. The tough 
integument of the Telchinia seemed to give the Maina much 
trouble, but it showed no evidence of disgust. The other three 
butterflies were taken greedily, the bird, like Oliver Twist, 
obviously asking for more. It shook the butterflies as a dog 
shakes a rat. 
January 21, 1908. Bird A appeared to be very anxious to be fed. 
I gave it a dead Catopsilia pomona, $, which was pecked to pieces : 
next a dead Parantica aglea , it ate its abdomen: then a dead 
Papilio aristolochiae, after giving this several pecks it was left 
and not touched again. I then gave it two Crastia asela, both 
alive; the fact of life seemed to interest the bird and it tried 
each of the specimens twice, but then appeared to be disgusted 
and refused even to look at any of the following, of which dead 
individuals were put into its cage: Papilio agamemnon , Jamides 
bochus , a small Lycaenid (probably either a Catochrysops or a 
Nacaduba), Loxura arcuata and Neptis varmona. 
Same day. Gave bird B a dead Atella phalantha , which it ate; after 
this a living Crastia asela , it pecked this several times but did 
not eat it. 
January 23, 1908. Bird A was busy preening its feathers and 
appeared to have just been fed ; I could not attract its attention. 
While thus engaged bird B sought to attract my attention, so I 
gave it in succession dead specimens of:— Ergolis sp., Telchinia 
violae, Delias eueharis and Papilio aristolochiae. It gave the 
two first a few pecks ; the Delias it pecked once or twice, but it 
gave the Papilio a single peck only. Perhaps it was not hungry. 
I then put the last two butterflies into the cage of bird A. 
It pecked the Delias several times, but the Papilio only once or 
twice. After this it declined even to look at the Papilio any 
more, but came to the front of its cage uttering again and 
again sounds ridiculously like “ No good! No good! ” 
