THE STARLING 127 



clung to the outside, looking in and out and all around, but not 

 always daring to take possession. For although undoubtedly the 

 stronger, and able to hold her own when once inside the tree, the 

 woodpecker seemed unable to cope with her smaller and more active 

 opponents at close quarters. If she ventured inside when either or 

 both starlings were in possession, a desperate scuffle could be heard, 

 which yem-rally ended in the defeat and ejection of the woodpecker, 

 but not always. On one occasion I saw the woodpecker seize a star- 

 ling by the beak and drag it forth ; then, slipping inside, she soon 

 ejected the other. But this was when her mate was near. The male 

 woodpecker did not take his fair share of the fight while I was 

 watching, and often the hen bird would lean half out of the nest 

 and call to him in soft, complaining tones, but his answering cry- 

 generally came from a long distance off, and she was left for hours to 

 continue the combat alone. 



"The starlings, on the contrary, worked well together, and some- 

 times a third came to their assistance. However, when once the wood- 

 pecker gained possession of her home, the starlings, literally, had not 

 a 'look in/ but sat disconsolately on a branch near at hand and 

 watched, by no means without protest, while the woodpecker slowly 

 and daintily threw out each twig until the ground beneath the tree 

 was strewn with debris. I wish it had been possible to obtain photo- 

 graphs of this part of the proceedings, because the obvious enjoyment 

 of the woodpecker as she did this was worth recording. After watch- 

 ing every bit of rubbish till it reached the ground, she looked up at 

 the discomfited pair of starlings between each act, and chuckled softly 

 with her head on one side, while the lookers-on gave vent to sundry 

 long-drawn-out screeches of disapproval. There was a particularly 

 large and dry laurel leaf which one starling had wrestled with and 

 carried into the hole after great struggles, because its stiffness and 

 length impeded the bird's flight When this treasure was thrown out 

 and fell to the ground with a dry rattle, both starlings whistled so 

 plaintively that I laughed aloud and frightened the woodpecker so 



