38 The Starling. 



had clone the deed of mischief in the dark, unseen and un- 

 suspected; while the stranger starlings were taken, con- 

 demned, and executed, for having been found in a place built 

 for other tenants of a more profitable description. 



After the closest examination of the form and economy of 

 the starling, you will be at a loss to produce any proof of its 

 being art egg-sucker. If it really sucks the eggs of pigeons, it 

 would equally suck the eggs of other birds ; and, those eggs 

 not being concealed in the dark recesses of the pigeon-cot, 

 but exposed in open nests on the ground, and often in the 

 leafless bushes of the hedge, this fact would afford to the 

 inquisitive naturalist innumerable opportunities of detecting 

 the bird in its depredations. Now, who has ever seen the 

 starling in the absolute act of plundering a nest ? It builds 

 its nest here, in company with the ringdove, the robin, the 

 greenfinch, the wagtail, the jackdaw, the chaffinch, and the 

 owl, but it never touches their eggs. Indeed, if it were in 

 the habit of annoying its immediate neighbours, upon so 

 tender a point as that of sucking their eggs, there would 

 soon be hue and cry against it ; nor would the uproar cease 

 until the victor had driven away the vanquished. So certain 

 am I that the starling never sucks the eggs of other birds, 

 that, when I see him approach the dovecot, I often say to 

 him, " Go in, poor bird, and take thy rest in peace. Not a 

 servant of mine shall surprise thee, or hurt a feather of thy 

 head. Thou dost not come for eggs, but for protection; 

 and this most freely I will give to thee. I will be thy friend, 

 in spite of all the world has said against thee; and here, at 

 least, thou shalt find a place of safety for thyself and little 

 ones. Thy innocence and usefulness demand this at my 

 hands." 



The starling is gregarious ; and I am satisfied in my own 

 mind that the congregated masses of this bird are only dis- 

 solved at the vernal equinox, because they have not sufficient 

 opportunities afforded them of places wherein to build their 

 nests. If those opportunities were offered them, we should 

 see them breeding here in multitudes as numerous as the 

 rook. They require a place for their nest, well protected 

 from the external air. The inside of the roof of a house, a 

 deep hole in a tower, or in the decayed trunk or branch of a 

 tree, are places admirably adapted for the incubation of the 

 starling; and he will always resort to them, provided he be 

 unmolested. The same may be said of the jackdaw. 



Attentive observation led me to believe that the great bulk 

 of starlings left our neighbourhood in the spring, solely for 

 want of proper accommodation for their nests. For many 

 years, two pairs of starlings only remained on my island. 



