BIRDS OF MANY FAMILIES 215 



nesting season. One autumn day, in Flatbush, 

 near Shcepshead Bay, I saw a flock that I be- 

 lieved numbered several thousand birds. It 

 is said that in England as many as one hun- 

 dred thousand will gather in a flock, and w^hen 

 they settle in a field of ripe grain the damage 

 done is serious. It seems now that these birds 

 are likely to increase here to an extent that will 

 make them a menace to the farmer and gardener. 

 Perhaps, after all, it is unwise to upset the bal- 

 ance Nature has set by transporting birds from 

 their natural habitat. At least in the cases of the 

 English Sparrow and the Starling there is grave 

 doubt as to the wisdom of their importation. 



Starlings are, however, not to be classed with 

 English Sparrows in any way, for they are at- 

 tractive, happy little fellows whose great variety 

 of calls and whistles will keep one interested for 

 a long time. I have often looked for the boy 

 whose whistles came distinctly to my ear, only 

 to find not a boy but a bird perched on limb or 

 chimney top, so mischievous and saucy in his 

 bearing that I could almost believe he was 

 aware of the deception he was practicing. They 

 are attractively clad in short-tailed suits of 

 black with metallic lustre. The feathers are 

 minutely tipped with buff, giving the bird, at 

 some seasons, a speckled appearance when seen 

 close at hand. The under parts are grayish- 

 brown, and the bill is yellow. The female is 

 rusty brown. They are slightly more than 

 eight inches long. 



Starlings nest in hollow trees, crevices about 

 roofs and towers, in leaders and comers of house 



