194 On the Species of the Genus Primula in Essex.
I have observed many flowers pulled to pieces when growing
under cover of thick woods, where sparrows are not accustomed
to go. At first I suspected mice, and set a trap accordingly in
a patch of flowers, but with no result; and I now think that
blackbirds were the destroyers. A gentleman accustomed to
grow Primroses informs me that chaffinches, linnets, and
greenfinches are also sinners in this matter. The calyx and
corolla are nearly cut through just above the ovary, and are
left upon the ground in numbers, generally showing the
marks of the two sides of the bird's bill. The ovary itself
and tho remaining portion of the calyx is then neatly cut off
the top of the stalk, and is carried away and probably eaten
by the bird, as it would doubtless be nutritious. The havoc
thus worked in woods and gardens is often very great, and
must seriously diminish the total quantity of seeds produced.
Since making the foregoing observation I learned that in
1874 a correspondence on the same subject in 'Nature' (ix.,
p. 482) was started by Mr. Darwin, who had noticed similar
facts. The practice of destroying the flowers seems to be
very widespread over the county, and I do not think there
can be the slightest doubt but that the object of the birds is
to get at and eat the ovary. Mr. T. E. Archer Briggs, of
Plymouth, says—" The tubular portion of the Primrose is
much infested by small insects (? Thrips), and I have some-
times thought that a bird for the sake of feeding on these
might be led to bite the flowers." This is unlikely to be the
case, as the tube is seldom opened ; and 1 have even found se-
veral live beetles in it after being cut off. I have occasionally
seen the Cowslip-flowers nipped off, and frequently those of
the Oxlip ; these latter seem to be most relished by the birds
while they are in the bud, and I have often seen little heaps
of them lying around the plants. Some of these remnants
of unopened buds had been robbed of their corolla, anthers,
style, and ovary. The anthers of Oxlip-flowers very often
disappear, and, as I have sometimes seen slime on the
flowers, I suspect the agents to be slugs. The same is often
the case with the Cowslip, and I have several times caught a
small snail (Helix hispida) on the flowers.