ORNITHOLOGY 



299 



but the tint is different, — which of course 

 does not matter in a covered nest. The 

 peculiar whisthng calls of these small 

 cuckoos are among our familiar spring 

 sounds. 



A peculiarity of our "yellow-tail" is 

 that it sometimes builds under and ad- 

 joining the nests of such fierce birds as 

 the eagles, ravens and magpies. The 

 latter is properly the "piping crow- 

 shrike," one of our most familiar species, 

 and so fierce at breeding time that I have 

 seen it chase a hawk fully a mile from 

 its nest, and occasionally it will even at- 

 tack human beings who venture too near 

 the tree — yet our little "tit" w'ill some- 

 times brood under its protection. It 

 would be interesting to know whether 

 any of the small birds of America indulge 

 in the same practice. 



The Starling's Objectionable Habits. 



Meriden, Connecticut. 

 To the Editor : — 



In the September number of this 

 magazine you make mention of the in- 

 vestigation now being carried on by 

 the Department of Agriculture, to de- 

 termine the economic value in America 

 of the European starling. 



Before this work is completed, and 

 the result of the inspection of hundreds 

 •of stomachs is made known, I believe 

 that a collection of facts relating to the 

 ■objectionable habits that I know, from 

 actual experience, to be common to the 

 starling, would be of importance in de- 

 ciding the question, Shall the starling 

 be protected or condemned? Many 

 items have been published that de- 

 scribe the starling as an insect destroy- 

 er worthy of protection, and some ob- 

 servers consider the protected robin as 

 an even greater destroyer of fruit, but 

 personally I believe that the starling 

 more than pays for the fruit it devours 

 by the number of insects it destroys, 

 especially tent caterpillars, grasshop- 

 pers and cutworms. 



Other things might be mentioned in 

 its favor. The beautiful plumage, ap- 

 pearing after the August moult, when 

 the dull brown of the young bird is dis- 

 placed by feathers of glistening black, 

 with changing tints of purple and 

 green, and each feather tipped with 

 white, gives the bird a speckled ap- 

 pearance that mav appeal to some 

 nature lovers. 



Their power of mimicry is interest- 

 ing, but it is limited to short calls and 

 whistles. I have heard them imitate 

 the call note of the robin, the wood pe- 

 wee, the grackle, the catbird, the flick- 

 er and the whippoorwill. How the 

 starling could have learned the whip- 

 poorwill's night call is a question, but 

 I saw the bird, at midday, perched near 

 the top of a Norway spruce, and heard 

 it thrice repeat to perfection the call, 

 "whippoorwill." 



But none of these interesting habits 

 nor its insectivorous nature should 

 save the starling, if we have enough 

 evidence to prove its enmity for our 

 native birds. The greatest sufferers 

 are woodpeckers, bluebirds, martins 

 and tree swallow^s. In fact, no species 

 is safe that builds in a hollow tree, or 

 in a hole, or in a bird house that the 

 starling can enter. The native bird is 

 driven out and the site taken for the 

 starling's own use, or, if the starling 

 has already made its nest, it will visit 

 such places to rob the nests of eggs or 

 of young birds. 



Other objectionable habits are its 

 destruction of sprouting and ripening 

 grain, its habit of making holes or of 

 nesting in or about buildings, and, af- 

 ter the nesting season is over, the habit 

 of roosting in large flocks in a tree by 

 the wayside where they make them- 

 selves disagreeable, especially in the 

 city. 



The examination of the stomach con- 

 tents of starlings captured in various 

 localities and at all seasons will deter- 

 mine the proportions of animal and 

 vegetable matter consumed, and prove 

 or disprove their economic value. But 

 it will not make known the number of 

 flickers that have been driven from 

 their holes, nor the hundreds of martin 

 boxes and bluebird boxes that have 

 been occupied by the starling before 

 the desired tenants arrived. The child 

 that has witnessed such incidents has 

 more convincing evidence against this 

 imported bird than has the professor 

 with his microscope. The starlings 

 are increasing rapidly, and many of our 

 native birds are about as rapidly de- 

 creasing. 



If the reader has witnessed any un- 

 desirable habit of the European star- 

 ling and will report to me. I will as- 

 semble the evidence and forward it to 

 Washington. We can all thus take 



