Note 74 — Chapter IX

In an interesting paper published recently McAtee[74] discusses the value of feeding experiments with animals in captivity as a means of indicating their preference for different articles of diet. After reviewing the various evidence brought forward he concludes that the food accepted or rejected by captive animals is very little guide to its preferences under natural conditions. He points out that a bird in captivity not infrequently rejects what is known to form a main staple of its diet in nature, and that conversely it may eagerly accept something which, in the wild state, it would have no opportunity of obtaining. Great caution must, therefore, be exercised in the interpretation of feeding experiments made with birds in captivity.