Note 72 — Chapter IX

In many of Finn's experiments both model and mimic were given to the birds simultaneously so that they had a choice, and he says that "in several cases I saw the birds apparently deceived by mimicking butterflies. The Common Babbler was deceived by Nepheronia hippia[72] and Liothrix by Hypolimnas misippus. The latter bird saw through the disguise of the mimetic Papilio polites, which, however, was sufficient to deceive the Bhimraj and King-crow. I doubt if any bird was impressed by the mimetic appearance of the female Elymnias undularis" (cf. Pl. IV, fig. 5). Finn concluded from his experiments that on the whole they tended to support the theory of Bates and Wallace, though he admits that the unpalatable forms were commonly taken without the stimulus of actual hunger and generally without signs of dislike. Certainly it is as well to be cautious in drawing conclusions from experiments with captive birds. The King-crow, for instance, according to Finn shewed a marked dislike for Danaines in captivity; yet Manders records this species as feeding upon Danaines under natural conditions (cf. p. 111).