Notes from Field and Study 



113 



numbers here I l)clievc was due to the 

 intense cold of the first two weeks of the 

 month, and since the moderation they 

 have gradually disappeared. 



I noticed also several Starlings at 

 Chestnut Hill, Pa., on January 2, 191 2, 

 but have never seen such flocks in the 

 vicinity of Philadelphia as have been 

 here until the last few days. — A. F. 

 Hagar, Princeton, X. J. 



The Starling in Illinois 



On Thanksgiving day, November 30, 

 191 1, I saw a Starling. It was at the home 

 of my sister, Mrs. H. M. Palmer, at 

 McLean, McLean Co., 111., which is fifteen 

 miles southwest of Bloomington. 



It was feeding on bread crumbs placed 

 on the bird tray attached to a tree, and 

 about thirty feet from the house. I 

 observed it carefully through glasses. I 

 recognized it from the pictures I had seen, 

 but especially from its Blackbird-like 

 characteristics. It was feeding with the 

 English Sparrows both on the the tray and 

 on the ground. There was snow covering 

 the ground. It would attack the Sparrows 

 that came too close, and when it was in the 

 trees the Sparrows attacked it. My sister 

 said she had seen the strange bird three 

 or four days before this, but did not 

 recognize it. It did not reappear after 

 the 30th. — Frank W. Aldrich, Bloom- 

 ington, III. 



The Starling in Philadelphia 



I wish to record a few observations 

 which I have made of the Starling. When 

 I returned to the city on September 15, 

 I noticed these birds in a tree in the back 

 of my home. The section of the city in 

 which I live is quite thickly built up, and 

 it is very unusual to see anything but 

 English Sparrows. Consequently, these 

 birds attracted my attention whenever I 

 had time for any observations. 



At first there were but two of them. 

 They seemed to be considerably bothered 

 by the Sparrows, which never dared to 

 attack them but kept continualK- nagging 



at them. However, there must have 

 been something about the neighborhood 

 that was attractive to them, for they could 

 be seen at almost any hour of the day in 

 the immediate vicinity. On November 26, 

 I noticed five birds. This, of course, is 

 rather an unusual number, and I suppose 

 there must have been others near-by, but 

 they were not visible at that time. Three 

 or four days later, I noticed eight of them. 

 They remained here until the bitter cold, 

 which set in about the fifth of this month. 

 I have not seen them since that time, and 

 presume that they have gone further 

 south. 



I could not locate the nest of the birds, 

 but it was the impression of the other 

 members of my family and myself that 

 they nested on top of a tower of the house 

 in the rear of the one in which I live. The 

 birds seldom lighted on the ground, and 

 in fact, stayed in the high branches of the 

 trees or near the top of the house at all 

 times. I am sorry that I cannot give you 

 any exact data as to their food el al, but 

 I am somewhat of a novice at ornithology, 

 and probably with experience my powers 

 of observation in this particular branch 

 of study will improve. I thought, how- 

 ever, that it might be of interest to you 

 to know of the presence of these birds in a 

 closely built up portion of the city at this 

 season of the year. — Chas. Alison 

 Scully, Philadelphia, Pa. 



The Starling in New Hampshire 



A flock of strange birds was noticed, in 

 December, 191 1, flying about an old 

 orchard. They seemed especially fond of 

 the frozen apples found on the trees. The 

 refuse from a walnut-crack was thrown 

 out, and the whole flock came to eat. An 

 examination of a specimen proved it to 

 be a bird entirely new to this vicinity. 

 By the help of Chapman's Handbook of 

 Birds of Eastern North America, we 

 thought it must be the English Starling 

 and, by sending the feathers to Mr. 

 Chapman, we were assured that we really 

 had the Starling with us. The flock of 

 Starlings consists of between twenty and 



