230 STUUNIDJE. 



Some conception of the Starling's utility as a destroyer of 

 insects may be formed by any one who will avail himself of 

 the opportunities, which its tameness so commonly gives, to 

 watch it while feeding. Hardly a fly or a beetle escapes its 

 quick sight or, if at all within reach, its agile motions as it 

 runs over the grass. More than this, it industriously probes 

 beneath the surface for the grubs which lurk at the roots, and, 

 thrusting aside obstructions by opening its bill, skilfully 

 extracts these still greater enemies to some kinds of vegeta- 

 tion than the perfect insect ; and Mr. Cordeaux has noticed its 

 enormous destruction of the Aphides that feed on tares and 

 pease (Zool. p. 9280 and s.s. p. 944). It may be often 

 seen perched on the back of sheep and oxen as they graze, 

 and their owners speak highly of its services in removing 

 the ticks or other parasites with which these animals may be 

 infested. But it is not only on or near the ground that the 

 Starling follows its useful labour : in hot weather it may be 

 seen soaring aloft engaged in diminishing the swarms of 

 high-flying insects which at times mount above the tallest 

 trees.* Its appetite is insatiable,! and when insects are 



Whimbrel and Herring- Grull are perfectly mimicked. Mr. Hooper, of Upton near 

 Didcot, informs the Editor that Starlings in that neighbourhood will render 

 exactly the characteristic cry of the Quail and the Corn-Crake. The common 

 sounds of the poultry-yard are often copied with more or less accuracy, and a 

 Duck may be heard to quack, a Hen to cackle and a Cock to crow from the 

 topmost bough of a tall tree. It seems quite possible that in some of the stories 

 which have been told of Blackbirds' crowing or cackling (vol. i. page 281) the 

 imitator may have been a Stalling. In confinement it will readily learn to utter 

 sounds resembling the human voice. Pliny mentions one which spoke two 

 languages, Greek and Latin a feat performed by another, some 1500 years 

 later, in regard to German and Polish (Journ. fiir Orn. 1870, p. 65). Naumanu 

 tells us of one which had been taught to repeat the Lord's Prayer word for word, 

 and the bird celebrated by Sterne will never be forgotten so long as English 

 literature lasts. 



* The very destructive PhyllopertJia horticola is thus taken in great numbers, 

 though far more are consumed in its larval state, while buried in the ground. 



t Thompson remarks that in quantity as well as variety of food consumed, 

 Starlings exceed all birds that have come under his notice, and gives some details 

 as to the contents of the stomach of several examples examined by him. M. 

 Florent Prevost's observations on the Starling's diet throughout the year in France 

 will be found in the 'Zoologist' (p. 8762), and Newman in the same magazine 

 (s.s. p. 2632, note) has named the insects which are chiefly destroyed by this 

 bird and the Rook. 



