THE ALIMENTARY TRACT 207 
discuss briefly the reactions of the orders. I shall, how- 
ever, omit mention of those in the right half of Table 11. 
Passerine birds are represented better than any other 
order because they are more numerous in nature and 
therefore exhibited more generously in collections. This 
order is not especially vulnerable as to its alimentary 
tract, but this tube is often affected by tiny stones, bits 
of rust from cages and by acute general non-specific infec- 
tions to which these birds are quite susceptible. Upon 
many occasions intense congestion with and without tiny 
hemorrhages in the duodenum are all that can be found in 
the little birds and the diagnosis of enteritis is put down. 
Only about one-tenth of these birds have shown more or 
less definite catarrhal changes. Many birds have heavy 
infestation with worms which may activate bacteria. 
The Striges and the Accipitres will be discussed 
together because of the similarity of their tracts and their 
diets. The reaction of their gastric complex has already 
been mentioned and what was written there can be 
extended to the intestine. The type of lesion is catarrhal 
and seems to be "meat bred" although this cannot be 
proven. They never have given positive heart's blood 
cultures so that the disease seemed not to be septicemic. 
Liver and spleen have harbored colon and paracolon 
bacilli. It will be noticed that they have the highest 
incidence of gastric disease. 
Psittaci, birds with a tract similar to the last two but 
with a captive diet of seeds, fruit and vegetables 
although they may eat small animals and insects in the 
wild, present figures under bacteria and parasites which 
explain the involvement of the alimentary organs. We 
have had two acute outbreaks of what seemed to be fowl 
cholera, judging by the pathology and the isolation of 
Bad. gaUinarum and we have frequent deaths with the 
same gross anatomy from which bacterial isolation has 
not been tried or was unsuccessful. At all events the 
enteritis of parrots is often a definitely infectious affair. 
