NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 109 



cherries. They are, like rooks, insectivorous and verminivorous, 

 and, I may say, tickivorous, for we often see them on the backs- 

 of sheep and cattle. I saw one yesterday taking a siesta on the 

 sunny side of a sheep's fleece, apparently wanting nothing but 

 a pipe to complete his quiet enjoyment." 



T. A., in Land and Water, thus writes : " One of the most 

 interesting sights to be witnessed in the neighbourhood of the 

 Broads of Norfolk, at this season of the year, is the congregation of 

 vast numbers of starlings, which appear to be on a migratory tour 

 to some distant land. A few days since the writer was walking 

 in one of his marshes, about half-a-mile from one of the Broads, 

 when his attention was attracted to one of the grandest sights 

 he ever witnessed in the flight of birds. At first he thought he 

 was looking at what appeared as a cloud of smoke from one of the 

 numerous pumping mills. It rapidly assumed many fantastic 

 shapes, sometimes as a fluttering ribbon with frizzled ends, then 

 as a huge balloon, and, to crown all, as a waterspout, the spout 

 being formed by the birds descending in a silvery line, with the 

 rapidity of rooks, to settle amongst the reeds, leaving a large 

 mass to sail away at great altitude,- in the shape of a huge ball, 

 to some neighbouring broads. Starlings ought never to be shot ; 

 they are the farmers' best friends ; they are patterns of industry, 

 ever doing good, excepting in the breeding season, when they 

 pull the thatch about. They are great friends to sheep, ever on 

 the watch to lessen the number of those pests of the sheep 

 which tell the farmer his flock requires to undergo a dipping 

 process." T. A. (October 25, 1875.) 



Mr. I)avy informs me that Wormwood Scrubs used to be a cele- 

 brated place for birdcatching, especially for starlings. He has 

 caught there from two to four dozen starlings at one pull of 

 the net. The nets must be laid so as to begin catching at 

 dawn. By eleven o'clock starlings are "fed up" and are off; 

 they go for shelter in the woods, to get out of the heat of the 

 sun. Five or six dummies i.e., stuffed starlings are placed 

 in the nets to attract the wild birds, and also one live bird on 

 a " flur stick." The autumn is the best time to catch starlings. 

 They soon get very artful. It is necessary to " take a cut " at them 

 that is, pull the net sharp the moment they get within reach 

 of it. They will often hover over the net, not making up their 

 minds to go in. This is the time to " cut them in." The birds 

 about August being mostly young are not " up to the game "- 

 that is, the net work but they will very soon learn it and get 

 artful. The market for starlings is for shooting matches. 



