THE STARLING 129 



to the satisfaction of all parties, by the transference of the nest to a 

 flower-pot. 



Starlings are able to make holes for themselves when occasion 

 demands. One has been seen to bring, "through an extremely 

 rough and irregular aperture, in a quite decayed tree, one little 

 beakful of chips after another. . . . The chips thus brought were 

 dropped on the ground, and had all the appearance of having been 

 picked and pulled out of the mass of the tree. Possibly, there- 

 fore, the aperture had been made in the same way." 1 Another 

 pair, seen excavating a hole in a decayed tree, were thus occupied 

 several days. In this case each particle of wood was carried to a 

 distance, a feat which, taken in conjunction with the exactly contrary 

 behaviour of the bird just noticed, adds but one more illustration to 

 the many already given in this book of the danger of assuming unifor- 

 mity of habit on the strength of one or two particular instances. On 

 the fourth day of their labours, the present pair showed in a striking 

 fashion their ability to profit by circumstances. A strong wind was 

 blowing, with the result that, as soon as the birds appeared at the 

 mouth of their hole, a violent puff' would send the chip flying from their 

 beaks to a distance. Thereupon they started shuffling pith out of the 

 hole, presumably with their wings. Numberless " small pieces of de- 

 cayed wood " issued from the hole " like smoke from a chimney." Let 

 us add that the pair returned to this hole each year till it was flooded 

 by a heavy rainfall. They then took possession of a hole in a neigh- 

 bouring tree, but evil still pursued them, for a swarm of bees entered 

 the nest and stung their offspring to death. After a few days' lamenting, 

 they left the place, not to return. 2 



The habit of carrying material from the nesting-hole to a distance 

 is exemplified in the case of a starling which removed a number of 

 flints from the barrier of a safety rifle-range. These were deposited 

 on a ledge several yards away. The instance seems to indicate that 

 the removal of material is rather the habit than the exception. This 



1 E. Selous, Bird Life Glimpses, p. 133. ' Gray, Birds of the West of Scotland. 



VOL. II. K 



