17 



always succeed in driving the flicker from its home, in which 

 they immediately begin to build. The moment the flicker gives 

 up vanquished, the starlings molest it no more, allowing it to 

 hew out another hole, either in the same tree or in one near 

 by, when a similar fight ensues with more starlings; and so 

 the flicker is driven literally from pillar to post, until it has 

 prepared sufficient homes for the starlings in its neighborhood 

 and all are satisfied, or until it gives up in disgust and leaves 

 the vicinity of its aggressive neighbors. The principal spring 

 work of the flicker in the future will be the preparation of 

 nesting places for the starling. It is probable that the hairy 

 woodpecker and the redheaded woodpecker also will serve as 

 carpinteros for the interloper, but the downy woodpecker will 

 be exempt from such service, as the entrance to its domicile is 

 too small to admit the starling. There is no evidence that the 

 starling has attempted to dispossess the screech owl; but Mr. 

 Clifford M. Case of Hartford, Connecticut, states that he has 

 seen a starling whip and drive away a male sparrow hawk. 

 Many correspondents report that flickers, bluebirds, English 

 sparrows and wrens have been driven from their nesting places 

 in old orchards by the starlings. 



Mr. Clifford H. Pangburn of New Haven says that his rec- 

 ords show a considerable decrease in the number of bluebirds 

 since the starlings came. There is no way to prevent this 

 except in the case of the smaller species, such as wrens, chick- 

 adees, nuthatches, bluebirds and tree swallows, which may be 

 protected against starlings (but not against sparrows) by pro- 

 viding them with nesting boxes having an entrance hole not 

 over 1^ inches in diameter. 



At my request Mr, William H. Browning, who has many 

 starlings occupying nesting boxes on his estate, put up in front 

 of the entrance to one of them a small board in which a hole 

 If inches in diameter had been bored. Starlings which then 

 had young in the box were unable to enter. Mr. Job now 

 assures me that starlings cannot enter a hole If inches in 

 diameter. 



The starling will compete with native birds for their food 

 supply. Mrs. P. R. Bonner of Stamford has observed the in- 

 truder frequently attacking robins and other birds, and driving 



