186 BULLETIN 197, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



1900, but there were 79 reports from 10 states in 1923 ; the second table 

 shows that the number of birds reported increased from 4 in New York 

 in 1900 to 15,388 reported in the same 10 States in 1923. These tables 

 do not claim to be absolutely accurate, as many rough estimates have 

 been made by the census-takers, nor do they come anywhere near 

 representing the total population at any one point, but they show 

 interesting trends. 



Another interesting study has since been made by Dr. Leonard 

 Wing (1943) on data collected from the same and other sources. His 

 maps and figures show the spread and increase of the starling, as 

 compared with the more rapid spread and greater increase in numbers 

 of the English sparrow, and are well worth careful study, for only 

 a few points can be mentioned here. One table shows the steady 

 increase in airline spread of the starling in different directions during 

 the different periods from 1901 to 1940. Based on the census reports, 

 the spread increased from the 1901 to 1905 period to the 193G to 1940 

 period as follows: For birds traveling westward, from 15 to 1,917 

 miles; for birds spreading west-southwest, from 21 to 1,898 miles; 

 and for birds spreading north-northwest, from 78 to 727 miles. It 

 appears that the spread was more rapid through the Southern and 

 Southwestern States than through the Northern States ; it also shows 

 that more rapid progress was made in recent than in earlier years. 

 The figures from published sources are somewhat higher, but the 

 trend is similar, and the rate of increase is remarkably steady, in 

 both cases. He says in his summary : "The rate of spread, as measured 

 by percentage of area covered, was fastest in the 26-30 years (1916- 

 1920) after its introduction. 



"The area covered by 1940 is calculated as 2,717,161 square miles for 

 the Starling which is still spreading. For the English Sparrow, the 

 area is calculated as 3,676,427 square miles. 



"The Starling is not limited by low altitudes but has reached areas 

 more than 6,000 feet above sea level." 



The following pertinent note was sent to me by Prof. Maurice Brooks 

 in 1942 : "The most notable thing which can be said of the starling in 

 West Virginia is that it has not been able to establish itself in our 

 mountain forests, so far at least. Harvey Cromer, who has spent 60 

 years at Cheat Bridge, Randolph County, and has kept his eyes open, 

 showed me two starlings he shot there about 15 years ago. He re- 

 garded them as a great curiosity, since he has never seen others there 

 before or since. I do not know of any other records for the birds in 

 the spruce belt." 



The above observation is not to be wondered at, for it is a well-known 

 fact that starlings in their wanderings prefer to frequent rural and 

 farming districts, or even towns and cities, rather than forests and 

 mountain regions. Consequently, as such settlements are found 



