142 The Starling 



hatched, the three young birds would have beeu able to sit comfortably in the 

 pipe, and it is doubtful whether the_v could have easil}- escaped from it. 



Nidification lasts from April to June ; in mild seasons the first nests being 

 commenced towards the end of March ; two broods are sometimes reared in a year, 

 and it is not very rare to find two hens in charge of one nest, in which case 

 seven, eight, or even more eggs will be found together:* this I have proved on 

 more than one occasion, but only in the case of nests built under thatching, where 

 I flushed both hens from the same hole, as I rested m}- ladder against the roof, 

 and putting in my hand felt the whole of the double clutch in the one depression : 

 so far as I could make out, onlj- one male owned the nest and its two occupants. 



The food of the Starling consists during the breeding-season of worms, slugs, 

 leather-jackets (the larvae of crane-flies) and many other destructive grubs; also 

 of spiders and various insects ; indeed these are always eaten when procurable, 

 but in autumn fruit and the softer berries are devoured, whilst in winter hips 

 and haws, and seeds of many kinds, as well as all kinds of household scraps are 

 greedily swallowed. 



In the autumn Starlings collect into immense flocks, consisting of hundreds 

 of thousands, if not millions of individuals ; as they pass overhead, wheeling in 

 an immense circle, the sound of their wings is like the rushing of water, and the 

 earth is darkened below as by a heav}^ passing cloud. I have seen two or three 

 of these vast assemblages following one another and wheeling incessantly over a 

 large park in Kent ; and, when at length they drew out into a long continuous 

 belt and gradually settled, the trees were black with birds. 



In captivity the Starling rapidly becomes friendly and is always amusing, but 

 he is a ravenous bird with a powerful digestion, and, therefore, needs constant 

 attention if kept in a cage: an aviary is the place in which to see him to perfec- 

 tion : there he is always perfect in plumage excepting when moulting, for he is 

 constantly bathing and preening his feathers. 



I reared my first nest of young Starlings in May, 1887, feeding them on a 

 moistened mixture of oat-flour and pea-meal : thej' were no trouble to rear, but 

 very noisy, greedy, and quarrelsome. When full grown one of these birds used 

 to spend nearly the whole day in turning back-somersaults from the top perch of 

 his cage to the bottom one, or to the floor, and back again : I used to wonder 

 whether it had a diseased brain, but it seemed quite sensible in other respects : 

 another of these birds distinguished itself b}- singing incessantlj' right up to 

 November: its performance consisted of a comical jumble of chuckling sounds, 

 mixed with a few Canary notes and the alarm-chatter of the Blackbird : it also 



* Cf. alsu Zoologist, liigs, p. 307 for supposed poljaiulrv, aud 1S96, Oclobcr. 



