44,8 HABITS OF THE EED-WINGED STAELING. 



the eye of the proprietor ; and a farmer who has very considerable extents of corn would 

 require half a dozen men at least with guns to guard it, and -even then all their vigilance 

 and activity could not prevent a ground-tithe of it from becoming the prey of the black- 

 birds." 



In consequence of their depredations the Ked-winged Starling is persecuted in every 

 possible way. Every man and boy who has a gun takes it and shoots at the "blackbirds," 

 every urchin who can throw a stone hurls it at their blackening flockt,, •'.nd even the 

 hawks come from for and near to the spot where these birds are assembled, and make great 

 havoc amonff them. As they are in the habit of resting at night among the reeds that 

 grow in profusion upon the morasses, the farmers destroy great multitudes of them 

 by stealing quietly upon their roosting-places at night and setting hre to the dry reeds. 

 The poor birds being suddenly awakened by the noise and flames, dart wildly about, and 

 those who escape the fire generally fall victims to the guns of the watchful farmer and 

 his men. Thousands of birds are thus killed in a single night, and as their flesh is 

 eatable, though not remarkable for its excellence, the party return on the following 

 morning for the purpose of picking up the game. 



Such are the devastations wrought by the Eed-winged Starling, and on the first glance 

 they appear so disastrous as to place the bird in the front rank of winged pestilences. But 

 there is another side of the question, which we will now examine. 



During the spring months these birds feed almost exclusively upon insects, especially 

 preferring those which are in their larval state, and devour the young leaves of growing 

 crops. These destructive grubs are hunted by the Ked-winged Starling with the greatest 

 perseverance, seeing that upon these the existence of themselves and their young 

 entirely depends. Whether a grub be deeply buried in the earth, eating away the root of 

 some doomed plant, whether it be concealed among the thick foliage which it is consuming, 

 or whether it be tunnelling a passage into the living trunk of the tree, tlie Red-winged 

 Starling detects its presence, and drags it from its liiding-place. From many dissections 

 which he made, Wilson calculated that on the very smallest average each bird devours at 

 least fifty larvte per diem, and that it probably eats double that number. But, taking the 

 former average as the true one, and multiplying it by the number of Eed-winged Starlings 

 which are known to visit the country, he calculates that these birds destroy sixteen 

 thousand millions of noxious insects in the course of each breeding season, even supposing 

 that they do not eat a single insect after the young are able to shift for themselves. 



The nest of this bird is made among the rank foliage of marshy and low-lying soils, and 

 is not unfrequently placed upon the bare ground. The materials of which it is made are 

 fine reeds, roots, and grasses, lined with soft herbs. In order to keep the nest in its place 

 among the loose and yielding substances in which it is placed, the bird fastens the twigs 

 or herbage together by intertwining them with the exterior rushes which edge the nest, 

 and sometimes fastens the tops of the grass-tufts together. The eggs are five in number, 

 pale blue in colour, and marked with pale purplish blotches and many lines and shades of 

 black. The male bird is extremely anxious about his home, and whenever he fears danger 

 from an intruder, he enacts a part like that which is so often played by the lapwing 

 of England, and by feigning lameness and uttering pitiful cries as he flutters along, 

 endeavours to entice the enemy from the vicinity of its nest. The young birds are able 

 to fly about the middle of August, and then unite in large flocks. 



When captured young it soon accommodates itself to its new course of life, becomes 

 very familiar with its owner, and is fond of uttering its curious song, putfing out its 

 feathers and seeming in great spirits with its own performance. 



The colour of the adult male is deep glossy black over the greater part of the 

 body, reddish brown upon the first row of the wing-coverts, and a rich bright scarlet 

 decorating the remaining coverts. In length it measures about nine inches. The female is 

 much smaller than her mate, being only seven inches long, and is coloured in a very 

 different manner. The greater part of the plumage is black, each feather being edged with 

 light brown, white, or bay, so that she presents a curiously mottled aspect. The chin is 

 cream, also with a dash of red ; two stripes of the same colour, but dotted with black, 

 extend from the nostrils over the eyes, and from the lower mandible across the head. 



