The Audubon Societies 321 



Whether the Robin learned the art of pulling up worms I cannot say, but he 

 picked up ants from the gravel path, and was seen once or twice with a worm. 

 Both birds answered when called, but they seemed lonely, having practically 

 nothing to do with each other or with other birds. One morning, a young male 

 Grosbeak, very tame, was seen in the same tree with Gretel. This was pretty 

 certainly Hansel, whom we had not seen since his escaj^e two weeks before. 

 On the 2 2d both Gretel and the Robin were brought into the house for a while. 

 They seemed very much at home, hopping around on the floor while we were 

 at dinner. The next day the Robin, all too tame, was found dead, doubtless 

 killed by the neighbor's cat. Gretel still came to the veranda daily to be fed, 

 even taking berries from between one's lips. If any one whom she recognized 

 walked across the lawn, she sometimes tiew after. This continued until the 

 27th, when she disappeared. We can only suspect why, and earnestly hope 

 that aluminum rings have a particularly unpleasant effect on feline digestive 

 organs.— W. G. Cady, Middletown, Conn. 



[There is no question that almost any species of wild bird ma\- be tamed, as illus- 

 trated by the above admirable experiment. Whether wild birds, thus tamed, are able 

 to look out for. themselves when set free, is doubtful. In the sharp struggle for exist- 

 ence, food and protection from enemies must be gained by each individual which holds 

 its own. Rearing j-oung birds in confinement probably tends to unfit them for life in 

 the open. Bird-lovers would do well to make a careful study of the actions of tamed 

 birds, comparing them with those of wild birds of the same age.— A. H. W.) 



A Starling "Roost" 



In the tower of St. George's Episcopal Church, in Hempstead, L. I., there 

 IS a colony of Starlings, numbering, as a conservative estimate, fifteen hundred 

 birds. The tower is perhaps twenty feet high, with eight tall windows inclosed 

 by lattice-work and a wide ledge around the base. The birds roost inside the 

 tower, and at sunset the vast horde hovers about, waiting to enter. They 

 alight on the ledge in flocks of several hundred at a time, until it is black 

 with birds, and wait till previous arrivals have entered the narrow openincrs 

 In the morning, the whole flock emerges and scatters to seek foraging grounds 

 for the day, few remaining around the church. 



The birds are not excessively noisy, except in the spring when they are 

 mating. In spite of the damage they must do to crops, they are apparently 

 unmolested by the townspeople; for, in the five years they have occupied the 

 tower, they have multiplied rapidly and attained their present numbers — 

 Minnie E. Watson. 



[It would be not only interesting but of value to know the exact feeding and neslincr 

 movements of this large flock of Starlings throughout the vear. How far does this 

 species roam from its nesting-area? — A. H. W.] 



NOTE 



The report of the Starling in Michigan (see Bird-Lore \o\. XIIT, \o z, p ,68) 

 has been found to be erroneous. — .\. H. W. 



