218 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



Robin, Curlew, Pheasant, Green Woodpecker, Jackdaw, and 

 others, varying according to the birds of the locality, and 

 in addition may be included a note not belonging to a feathered 

 creature, viz., a dog whistle ! A bird which bears the title of 

 "" Our Whistling Starling," has been, for several years, in the 

 habit of saluting the dawn by a low melodious whistle on the 

 roof of my house, and it sometimes gives a very good represen- 

 tation of a Peewit's call and the Golden Plover's note. 



Starlings have of late years been observed to depart from 

 their usual method of feeding and have developed a taste 

 for insect food. One fine warm day in October 1901, Mr. E. 

 B. Emerson saw about two hundred, hawking insects, in the 

 same manner as Swallows do, over a field at Deighton, near 

 Northallerton ; and in the autumn of 1904 he witnessed a 

 repetition of this habit in Bilsdale. I have observed the 

 same trait in the flocks frequenting the flats near the sea ; 

 our " Whistling " bird constantly practises this mode of 

 feeding in the autumn, and at Fewston these birds have been 

 noticed feeding on ants. During hard frost and snow they 

 often resort to the rocks to feed on the small mussels left 

 bare at ebb-tide ; and in the Beverley district they have been 

 detected devouring garden fruits. 



On the sea coast of Cleveland and at Flamborough the 

 Starling breeds in large numbers in the cliffs, and also resorts 

 to holes in rocks in many inland localities. Amongst curious 

 nesting situations the following have been noted : the 

 crevice in a crane at Bridlington station, in May 1901 ; the 

 balls of a water tank at Thirsk, where, in 1875, a nest was 

 built in each of the seven balls ; and the cleft of an ivy-clad 

 tree twenty feet from the ground. A nest is recorded at Nun- 

 appleton built of pampas grass and twigs, lined with feathers 

 and placed in an " arbor vitae," and resembling the nest of 

 a Bearded Tit (Field, 26th June 1876). Though not its 

 usual practice, instances are yet known when this bird has 

 shared its nesting quarters with another species. In May 

 1878, four eggs of the Starling were found, in the hole of a 

 tree, with two belonging to the Stock Dove ; these were 

 taken, and about three weeks or a month later three more 



