THE RED WINGED STARLING. 



329 



over the meadows and deserted corn-fields, darkening the air with their numbers. They com- 

 mence the work of destruction on the corn, the husks of which, though composed of numerous 

 envelopments of closely wrapped leaves, are soon completely torn off ; while from all quarters 

 myriads continue to pour down like a tempest, blackening half an acre at a time, and if not 

 disturbed repeat their depredations till little remains but the cob and the shrivelled skins of 

 the grain. From dawn to nearly sunset this open and daring devastation is carried on. 

 under 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 vigi- 

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

 blackbirds." 



In consequence of their depredations the Red-winged Starlmg is persecuted in every 

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



RED-WINGED STARLING.— Agelaius pkceniceus. 



every urchin who can throw a stone hurls it at their blackening flocks, and even the hawks 

 come from far and near to the spot where these birds are assembled, and make great havoc 

 among them. As they are in the habit of resting at night among the reeds that grow in pro- 

 fusion upon the morasses, the farmers destroy great multitudes of them by stealing quietly 

 upon their roosting-places at night and setting fire to the dry reeds. The poor birds being 

 suddenly awakened by the noise and flames, dart wildly about, and those who escape the Are 

 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 Red-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 Red-winged Stalling 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, 



Vol. n.— 42. 



