THE JAY, STARLING, AND KINGFISHER IN AYRSHIRE. 302 



and nesting - places for innumerable numbers of 

 these social birds. (Third) The Starling invariably 

 frequents ground where there is much worm and 

 insect life. Cold, sour, damp ground it abhors, as 

 life of all kinds is there at a minimum. This was 

 the condition of much of Ayrshire sixty or seventy 

 years ago ; but at that time tile-draining was intro- 

 duced, and now the county is one of the best-drained 

 in Britain. The result has been that the ground is 

 in a more favourable condition for the existence of 

 worms, snails, slugs, beetles, &c, the favourite food 

 of Starlings. (Fourth) Nothing now pays so well in 

 Ayrshire as pasturage. As far as jDOssible land is 

 now laid down in grass, kept without being broken 

 up, and both frequently and heavily top-dressed. 

 These rich old pastures, abounding in life of all 

 kinds, furnish the favourite hunting-ground of the 

 Starlings, which render incalculable service by keep- 

 ing down the excessive increase of many insects, &c, 

 that would otherwise prove most injurious. 



I conclude by narrating a strange instance of late 

 nesting which came under my notice last year. In 

 October a pair of Starlings built their nest among 

 the ivy at the Dean Castle, Kilmarnock ; in November 

 they were tending young, and in the beginning 

 of December were still feeding them. They were 

 seen by Mr. Joseph H. Turner, Factor to the Duke 

 of Portland, and by many of the workpeople. I 

 am glad to add that the venturesome birds were 

 rewarded with success, as no casualty befell their 

 young. They were last seen being fed by the old 

 ones after they had left the nest. 



The Kingfisher. Alcedo ispida, Lin. 



No native bird is so gorgeous in its plumage, and 

 so tropical in its appearance, as the Kingfisher. It 

 is to be found in suitable localities in most parts of 

 Britain, and the Kilmarnock district — a land of 

 streams — is no exception. The Irvine is its favourite 

 stream, but it is also to be seen on others. How it 



