Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/333

Rh driven away from the eyelids of those who lived near by the incessant blowing of tin trumpets and firing of guns charged with powder only."

—Ostriches, according to Mr. Cronwright Schreiner, have been known to swallow oranges, peaches, small Tortoises, Fowl and Turkey chickens, and kittens. The Spreo (Spreo bicolor) "was formerly never known to touch fruit, its food consisting entirely of insects; but during recent years it has, at all events on some farms with which I am acquainted, become very destructive to fruit." Dr. A.G. Butler, who has much experience in aviculture, states that he has "seen the American Bluebird, the English Starling, the Robin, Redstart, and many other insectivorous birds swallow quantities of seed, and benefit greatly in consequence." "It is within the memory of some still living that the Rooks first commenced to eat turnips about fifty years ago." Perhaps the most remarkable case is found in the New Zealand Kea or Parrot (Nestor notabilis), which has recently developed a taste for a carnivorous diet. As described by Mr. Wallace: "It began by picking the sheep-skins hung out to dry or the meat in process of being cured. About 1868 it was first observed to attack living sheep, which had frequently been found with raw and bleeding wounds on their backs. Since then it is stated that the bird actually burrows into the living Sheep, eating its way down to the kidneys, which form its special delicacy." The absolute accuracy of this explanation of the bird's intentions, has been denied by Messrs. Taylor White and Huddelston, both New Zealand authorities. According to these writers, "the bird settles on the sheep above the kidneys because it is the broadest part, and it can there obtain the best grip of the wool; and Mr. White considers that blood rather than flesh is what the bird desires. On the island of Porto Santo, near