4878 THE ZooLocist— APRIL, 1876. 
itis made. I have frequently observed this action in the starling.— William 
Jeffery; Ratham, Chichester, March 3, 1876. 
Manner of Feeding of the Starling.—The editor having called on the 
readers of the ‘Zoologist’ to record their personal observations on the 
feeding habits of the starling, I do so, remarking, too, on what has appeared 
in answer to that appeal. In a foot-note (S. S. 2632), Mr. Newman remarks, 
“T have observed a feature in the digging operations of starlings that I do 
not recollect having seen mentioned: this bird appears to dig with its 
mouth open, the upper mandible penetrating the ground, but not the 
lower.” A starling with a “curiously overgrown under mandible” is 
referred to by Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., also a “similar specimen” in his 
collection, which has “the lower mandible projecting a quarter of an 
inch,” and he is “inclined to think that these poor birds may have worn 
away the upper mandible by pricking the ground with their mouths 
open.” That one of these starlings is a monstrosity is clear, seeing its 
lower mandible is overgrown, and probably the other bird's is so too, it not 
being likely that its upper mandible could have been worn away a quarter 
of an inch. In Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. ii., p. 90), will be found the 
figure of a rook’s head with the lower mandible an inch or so longer than 
the upper one. Are we, then, to jump to the conclusion that the latter 
had been worn away? ‘Though I have closely examined many starlings, 
both common and redwinged, never did I find one with the upper man- 
dible more worn than the lower. It is remarked by Mr. G. F. Mathew 
(S. S. 4837) that “the beak of the starling is not thrust into the ground 
open,’—which I believe to be the fact,—but that “immediately it has 
pierced it the lower mandible is opened to its widest extent.” But how the 
beak can be opened in that position I cannot imagine, or how ‘ any creature 
can be easily detected and secured in the space it has opened out to view.” 
The lower mandible, being more flexible and sensitive than the upper, is 
required in the discovery and extraction of the grub or insect. Mr. Southall 
says (S. S. 4836), “The beak of the starling seems to be an inferior instru- 
ment, or at least wielded with very inferior power to that of the blackbird 
or thrush.” But the fact is, the bill of the latter—to say nothing of the 
former—is comparatively weak. Having of late closely watched the star- 
lings feeding on the lawn, I am confident in the opinion that the bill 
remains closed when thrust into the ground for about half its length; but 
that must vary with the season, grubs being found nearer the surface in 
summer than winter. If it were the starling’s habit to force its bill down 
to the “base,” after the manner of the rook, we should find the feathers 
worn, but they are not.—H. Hadjield ; Ventnor, Isle of Wight, March 10, 
1876. 
[My friend Captain Hadfield will find some remarkable instances of 
overgrown mandibles in different volumes of the ‘ Zoologist’:—the upper 
