428 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



mingled with the sweet ones with no approach to order. It is indeed a strange 

 song-, and can not he mistaken for that of any other British bird, the Rose-colored 

 Starling excepted. The Starling's alarm notes are very harsh and rapidly 

 repeated, resembling somewhat those of the Missel Thrush. Its call note is a 

 clear, long-drawn, piping cry. 



"Early in April, sometimes not until the beginning of May, the Starlings 

 have mostly mated and gone to their breeding holes. Previous to this, how- 

 ever, much quarreling goes on for the choice of suitable sites. The strong gain 

 the best-located holes, while the weak seek quarters elsewhere. The Starling 

 will build its nest almost anywhere, and it needs but slight encouragement to 

 take up its quarters in any suitable hole or box placed for its reception. It will 

 even dislodge large tiles and burrow considerable distances under the eaves, and 

 its bulky nest often stops up some spout, to the dismay of the householder. A 

 hole in the gable or inside the dovecot are also favorite places, while its partiality 

 for holes in trees is none the less. It also commonly breeds in ruins, churches, 

 and old masonry of every description. In the wilder portions of the country the 

 Starling selects a hole either in a tree or a rock for its purpose, and it will often 

 breed in great numbers in caves or in crevices of the ocean cliffs. 



"The nest is sometimes but a few inches from the entrance to the hole, at 

 others it is several feet, and in many cases, especially in trees and rocks, is abso- 

 lutely inaccessible. In the outer Hebrides, where trees are absent, the Starling 

 breeds, according to Mr. Gray, under the stones on the beach, in disused rat 

 holes, in turf dikes, and in holes in walls. Saxby states that in Shetland it 

 breeds in peat stacks and rabbit holes. It has also been known, in one or two 

 instances, to build an open and exposed nest in trees, to rear its young in a hole 

 in the ground, and to share the same nest with a Magpie. 



"The Starling's nest is a somewhat slovenly structure, made of straw, dead 

 grass, and rootlets, sometimes a twig or two, and is lined with a few feathers, a 

 little wool, or even a scrap or two of moss, paper, rag, or twine. In many cases 

 the birds do not trouble about a lining at all, and the cup of the nest is entirely 

 composed of straws, arranged very evenly and smoothly, but with a lot of 

 straggling bents around it. 



"The nest is in some cases much more elaborately made than in others, 

 and in some holes the dry and powdered wood at the bottom almost does sole 

 duty for a bed. With great perseverance the Starling will continue to build in 

 the same hole, although its nest is repeatedly removed, and each year the birds 

 will return to their old quarters. 



"The food of the Starling is for the greater part of the year composed of 

 worms, slugs, and beetles; but in winter they are often seen to feed on grain 

 and seeds. In autumn they are very fond of fruit and berries. Elderberries 

 are part of then favorite food, and soon the trees, which had previously bent 

 under the weight of their clustering" branches of black fruit, will be totally 

 denuded. In severe weather they will sometimes feed on hips and haws, and 

 are often seen on coasts searching" for sand worms and various small mollusks." 1 



i History of British Birds, Seebohm, 1884, Vol. II, pp. 12-15. 



