The Starling in America 



209 



Near my home is a large elm tree which 

 rises above the surrounding shade trees and 

 has a very large, flat crown; near it is a church 

 tower, used as a roosting-place. Late in the 

 afternoon on winter days often as many as a 

 hundred Starlings may be seen in this tree, 

 altogether making a racket that may be heard 

 several blocks. Yet I do not know of a pair 

 breeding in the neighborhood. 



These facts, together with the fact that 

 during late summer, when few Starlings are 

 to be found in the city, they are found in 

 flocks on the marshes, convinces me that, 

 economically, they must be considered with 

 the Grackles and Red-wings, and not with 

 the English Sparrow and a few other city 

 dwellers, and that to arrive at an estimate of 

 their desirability we must examine their food 

 supply. 



In Germany (see Baron Laffert in ' Forest 

 and Stream' for March 30, 1907) they are 

 regarded as economically valuable. It may be 

 we shall find them a welcome addition to our 

 ■avifauna. — P. L. Btjttrick. 



The Starling at New London, Conn. 



The Starling has arrived in New London. 

 On May 28, 1907, a friend came to me and 

 wanted me to go up near her house to see a 

 strange Blackbird. From her description I 

 suspected it to be the Starling, which I had 

 been looking for ever since it was reported 

 from New Haven and Norwalk. Sure enough, 

 it was the Starling, which I saw for the first 

 time. There were not more than ten birds in 

 all, and several of them were big young birds, 

 still being fed by the old birds; so it looks as if 

 they had come early enough for the nesting. 

 This is their first appearance in New London, 

 as far as I know, and I have never seen them 

 except in that locality, so that I can not say 

 so soon whether they are desirable or not. — 

 Frances M. Graves. 



Starlings observed by Mr. Heineken, about 

 twenty in number, settled in Livingston, 

 Staten Island, in November, 1891. The fol- 

 lowing summer he found a nest in West New 

 Brighton; and in the winter of 1892-3 the 

 Starlings at Livingston numbered about forty. 

 Thereafter they slowly increased; but even in 

 1898 Mr. Heineken knew of no others on the 

 island than those at Livingston and West 

 New Brighton. 



Only three or four years ago, when Star- 

 lings were quite numerous throughout the 

 northern and eastern portions of the island, 

 they were rarely to be seen in the less populous 

 districts. At the present time, however, they 

 may be seen almost anywhere on the island, 

 though they still seem to favor the vicinity of 

 houses. During the early summer, while 

 breeding, they are very inconspicuous, but in 

 the autumn they wander about in large flocks. 



I have never seen them attack any of our 

 native birds, but their rapid increase is start- 

 ling. I do not believe in introducing foreign 

 birds, but, even now, I doubt if the Starling 

 could be completely exterminated.. It is a far 

 warier bird than the House Sparrow, and even 

 that pest seems well able to survive the half- 

 hearted dislike of the general public. — James 

 Chapin. New Brighton, Staten Island, N. Y. 



The Starling at Orient, L. I. 



Two Starlings have been observed here this 

 spring. They were first seen on May 12, by 

 Mr. Rufus W. Tuthill, an enthusiastic local 

 ornithologist, who called my attention to 

 them. They were seen almost daily through 

 May, spending most of the time in a large 

 cherry tree, containing an old Crow's nest, 

 fifty yards from the highway and a trifle 

 farther from the dwelling of Mr. Tuthill. 



Orient is at the extreme end of Long Island 

 on the north shore and one hundred miles 

 from New York City. — Roy Latham. 



The Starling on Staten Island, N. Y. 



The early history of the Starling on Staten 

 Island, N. Y., has already been recorded by 

 Mr. W. P. Heineken in the 'Proceedings of 

 the Natural Science Association of Staten 

 Island' for February 12, 1898. The first 



The Starling at Morristown, N. J. 



I believe that the Starling has never been 

 seen in this locality until 1907. On March 20 

 I saw a flock of about twenty, and since that 

 time until the last week in June saw one or 

 more of them nearly every day. On June 9 



