SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR BIRD STUDY. 117 



of fibres and grass lined with mud, usually placed in a 

 hedge. Eggs aboub 1 J inches long, five in number usually, 

 pale greenish blue, speckled with light brown, sparsely, or 

 so thick as to obscure the ground colour. 



STERLING (B,.). This bird is about 9 inches long, 

 dark in colour, with marked purple and blue reflections. 

 In the male the feathers on the head and neck are very 

 narrow and tapering. On the other parts all the feathers 

 are tipped with a triangular greyish speck, which in the 

 male is small. The bill is long, pointed, and angular, pale 

 yellow, the feet are reddish brown. In the female the 

 feathers are broader, with broader specks at tip. The bill 

 is dull coloured. The nest is placed in various odd situa- 

 tions, disused chimneys, under eaves, crevices in rock, holes 

 in turf or in trees, etc. The eggs, four to six, are about 

 1J inches, narrow and somewhat tapering, pale blue. 

 Starlings are gregarious; they feed chiefly on a varied 

 insect diet which includes all the more important agricul- 

 tural pests, " daddy long legs " larvae, wire worms, etc., 

 also worms and snails. Their nestlings are fed almost 

 entirely on insect diet. 



The following record of observations by Newstead are of 

 great interest. At intervals during several days he watched 

 a pair feeding their nestlings. " During a total period 

 of 17 hours, representing approximately the hours of one 

 day during which food was collected for the young, 169 

 journeys were made to the nest. It may be interesting to 

 note that three birds (two males and one female) were 

 seen on four occasions to bring food to the young. Of 

 this I am absolutely certain, as all three birds arrived at 

 the nest almost simultaneously. As a rule, however, the 

 birds paid alternate visits, and there was an irregular 

 interval between them. 



"An approximate summary of the* food brought in 

 during the 17 hours may be tabulated as follows: 269 

 insects of the injurious group ; 4 of the beneficial group, 

 2 of the indifferent group ; 30 earthworms ; 14 slugs 

 and snails (molluscs) ; 1 centipede ; 1 wood louse ; 2 

 harvest spiders (Phalangids) ; 23 lots of bread ; 19 lots of 



