190 



BRITISH BIRDS 



very moderate toll from the cherry and other trees, which 

 should certainly not be grudged them considering the 

 amount of good they do by the destruction of myriads of 

 the larvae of the daddy-long-legs, so destructive in pastures, 

 where they burrow for several years and feed on the roots 

 of the grass, which they kill. 



In the house the Starling is a very amusing pet, learning 



to talk and sing in a 

 wonderfully accurate way. 

 He is easily reared and 

 kept on ants' eggs, mag- 

 gots, and scraps of all 

 kinds from the table. 

 White and cinnamon 

 varieties are not uncom- 

 mon, and when found 

 are valuable, although the 

 price has declined some- 

 what of late. In a suitable 

 place they will breed and 

 rear their young, which, 

 however, often turn out 

 to be merely ordinary 

 specimens of their kind 

 possessing not one of the 

 peculiar characteristics of 

 their parents. The nest 

 of the Starling is always 

 placed in a hole of some 

 kind, and the eggs, which 

 are blue spotted with black and brown, sometimes very 

 sparingly, are usually four or five in number. There are two 

 broods in the season, as a rule, but sometimes three. 



THE STARLING. 



THE STINT. See Dunlin (under Sandpipers). 



