I31RDS OF THE HOMESTEAD 43 



a quarter of a mile away, steadily making a bee- 

 line for the apple-trees. But so great is their dis- 

 patch that, however far they may travel, one or 

 other of the parents is seen once in every five 

 minutes at the side of the nesting hole, to be 

 greeted by hungry welcomes from beneath. 



The Starlings are the noisiest of birds, making 

 not the slightest effort to conceal the whereabouts 

 of their family; indeed, the loud " spate, spate " of 

 the old birds at the moment when they alight, and 

 the vociferous responses of the young, render the 

 nest a thing impossible to be overlooked. 



Fortunately for the Starlings, the recess selected 

 is constantly beneath the eaves of houses, and in 

 rocks and old castles, as well as in decayed trees, 

 and so the eggs and nestlings are beyond the reach 

 of prying hands. This, taken in conjunction with 

 the fact that the bird is double-brooded — a circum- 

 stance often questioned, but which is certainly 

 true in many cases — has probably helped to render 

 the Starling one of the most abundant birds in 

 England. 



The families amalgamate in the late autumn, and 

 at these times the flocks amount to incredible num- 

 bers; some observers stating that at their roosting- 

 grounds in reed-beds and evergreen plantations, 

 they have been known to assemble in millions, 

 breaking down and destroying, by their crowding 

 weight, the boughs or stems upon which they seek 

 to rest. 



In addition to the many familiar places, the 

 Starling often builds in the bases of Rooks' nests, 

 in the deserted homes of Magpies, and, more rarely. 



