190 BULLETIN 197, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



pied by young birds. Concealed in this dark chamber and watching 

 the feeding of the young I noted that every 15 minutes when the chimes 

 were rung some of the machinery struck the planks beneath my feet 

 with a sound like that of a sledge-hammer." 



Witherby's Handbook (1919) says that, in England, they some- 

 times nest in the ivy growing on the walls of buildings. W. A. Smith, 

 of Lyndon ville, N. Y., tells me that he has heard of starlings nesting in 

 the branches of a tree, and he sent me a nest which he thought was a 

 starling's that was built on the ground in a "grassy meadow." He tells 

 me the following story : "We have a motor on an upstairs floor of our 

 factory ; it is enclosed with a partition which rises from floor to ceiling 

 and is about 3 by 3 feet square ; there is a small hole through the con- 

 crete-block siding right near the motor, made for the purpose of ad- 

 mitting fresh air to the motor. The starlings found this and decided 

 on it as a nesting place. The motor being somewhat in their way, 

 they proceeded to cover it up with nesting material. I noticed them 

 carrying nesting material to the hole, as it was visible from my office 

 window. They continued to carry material for several days. After 

 I thought it was time for eggs, I went up to see what was in the nest. 

 I found the largest starling's nest I have ever seen or heard about ; a 

 bushel basket would not begin to hold it. They were successful in 

 raising their brood, as the motor was not being used at the time." 



Starlings' nests have also been found in holes in haystacks, holes in 

 cliffs and banks, such as the old burrows of kingfishers and bank swal- 

 lows, and in cavities among rocks or heaps of stones. Kalmbach and 

 Gabrielson ( 1921) state that "nests have been found on fire escapes, hay 

 tracks, and barn doors, behind window shutters, and even in open 

 boxes erected for pigeons. * * * The clogging of hay tracks or 

 tracks of barn doors with their nests is occasionally a source of trouble, 

 and the infesting of the immediate vicinity of their homes with bird 

 lice is complained of when they build about water tanks, poultry 

 houses, etc." 



Starlings sometimes build their nests near those of other starlings, 

 or even near the nests of other species, with no appearance of an- 

 tagonism nor fear of molestation. Dr. Chapman (1925) "heard of 

 five pairs of starlings nesting simultaneously in the hollow limbs of 

 a single willow tree." Mr. Forbush's experience with the colony in 

 the church steeple, referred to above, is a more striking example of 

 colonizing. Mr. Trautman (1910) writes: "In 1928, 2 pairs nested in 

 the attic of a deserted schoolhouse, and at the same time and within 

 10 feet of a pair of Barn Owls, and in the same year 2 occupied 

 Starling nests were found on the same side of a tree and about 3 feet 

 apart, while between them was the occupied nest of a Red-headed 

 Woodpecker." I have often seen starlings fly from their nests in the 

 bases or sides of the huge stick nests of ospreys, where they find con- 



