resident throughout the winter. Although it resembles our 

 blackbirds somewhat in appearance, it differs vridely from them 

 in its breeding habits. Like the house sparrow it is a close 

 companion of man during the breeding season. In Europe it 

 nests in hollow trees, in holes or crevices in rocks, walls, cliffs 

 and buildings. It occupies suitable places about the eaves, and 

 utilizes bird houses and nesting boxes, as does the house 

 sparrow. It lays from four to seven greenish-blue eggs and 

 in many cases raises two broods in a season. It is a very 

 gregarious species, and even during the breeding season may 

 be seen in small flocks, a few individuals or a family often 

 consorting. By midsummer these small flocks begin to congre- 

 gate into larger ones, containing hundreds of individuals, and 

 increasing sometimes in the fall to thousands or tens of thou- 

 sands. The largest flights are seen at the roosts. Usually the 

 starlings from a large area concentrate on some marsh at night, 

 where they roost in the reeds, and from these centers they 

 scatter over the country to feed each day, returning every 

 evening to the same roost, until the approaching winter, with 

 its scarcity of food, compels them to wander about in search 

 of it, or to resort to more southern regions. 



The accounts of the vast numbers congregated at the roosts 

 as related by European ornithologists seem almost incredible. 

 Their numbers are set down as hundreds of thousands and 

 sometimes as "millions," but such statements probably are 

 somewhat exaggerated. It is certain, however, that these birds 

 gather at the roosts in "clouds," such as sometimes are seen 

 in the south, where our swallows concentrate in countless thou- 

 sands at night over a marsh, and discharge their numbers into 

 the reeds like a waterspout descending from a cloud. A some- 

 what similar manner of going to roost is attributed to the star- 

 ling. Like our cowbird, it seems fond of frequenting pastures 

 or places where cattle are kept. It is said to even alight on 

 the backs of cattle and sheep in search of ticks and other in- 

 sects that infest them. It is pre-eminently a ground feeder, 

 and feeds on lawns, in grass fields and pastures, and also to 

 some extent in gardens and plowed lands. It destroys grubs, 

 earthworms, snails and many insects which infest grass lands 

 and the droppings of cattle. It is conceded in Europe that the 



