186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



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 hairj woodpecker and the redheaded wood- 

 pecker also will serve as carpinteros for the interloper, but 

 the downy woodpecker will probably be exempt from such 

 service, as the entrance to his domicile is too small to admit 

 the starling. There is no evidence that the starling has at- 

 tempted to dispossess the screech owl ; but Mr. Clifford M. 

 Case of Hartford, Conn., states that he has seen a starling 

 whip and drive away a male sj^arrow hawk. Many corre- 

 spondents report that flickers, bluebirds, English sparrows 

 and wrens have been driven from their nesting places in old 

 orchards by the starlings. 



Mr. Clifford II. 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, which may be pro- 

 tected by providing them with nesting boxes having an en- 

 trance hole not over IV2 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 11/2 inches in diameter had been bored. Starlings which 

 then had young in the box were unable to enter. 



The starling will compete with native birds for their 

 food supply. Mrs. P. R. Bonner of Stamford has observed 

 the intruder frequently attacking robins and other birds, and 

 driving them away from a lawn where they formerly fed. 

 The starling is a sphinx-like bird and ordinarily treats other 

 birds with a sort of contemptuous tolerance. In winter it 

 even permits robins, blackbirds and meadowlarks to join its 

 great flocks, but as these flocks increase they must eventually 

 clean up most of the winter food supply of wild berries, and 

 leave our native winter birds without sufficient sustenance. 



Other Injurious Habits of Starlings. — The food of the 

 starling in America seems to be similar in general character 

 to that which it consumes in Europe. It is particularly use- 



