2 BULLETIN 868, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Criticism came first only from those who foresaw in the light of 

 previous experiences what might be the result of an unhampered 

 spread of the starling. For a number of years the birds were con- 

 fined to a small area about the place of importation, New York City, 

 and there they were of interest chiefly to ornithologists. Their 

 spread, however, in the early years of this century to the neigh- 

 boring suburban and farming sections of New York, New Jersey, 

 and Connecticut brought them more intimately in competition with 

 our native birds and in close contact with growing crops. The 

 starling was heard from immediately. Reports of its aggressive 

 tactics against native birds became frequent: Flicker nests were 

 said to be usurped by the wholesale; the houses of bluebirds and 

 wrens were sharing a similar fate; young robins were being dragged 

 from their nests and killed; and the food supply of certain native 

 birds was being seriously reduced by the ever-increasing flocks of 

 the foreigner. From farmers, too, came criticism: Cherries, ber- 

 ries, apples, and pears were reported damaged ; in spring garden truck 

 suffered; and in midsummer sweet corn was attacked by the birds. 

 Even from the cities came complaints of the noise and filth connected 

 with the large roosts of late summer and fall, established usually in a 

 residential section. Few indeed had a good word to say for the new- 

 comer. The occasional words of praise, however, were significant. 

 Coming usually from careful observers, these appeared to indicate 

 that, despite its bad points, the starling was destroying terrestrial 

 insect pests at a rate surpassed by few, if any, of our native birds. 



From such conflicting testimony it was apparent that an accurate 

 estimate of the starling's worth could be secured only by extensive 

 field observation, supplemented by careful laboratory examination 

 of the contents of a large number of stomachs collected under diverse 

 conditions and representative of every month in the year. It was 

 imperative that this be done in order that an intelligent attitude 

 might be reflected in legislation enacted for the bird's protection or 

 control. Such work the Bureau of Biological Survey began in the 

 spring of 1916, and the results of its investigation are discussed in 

 the following pages. 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 



In conducting field work it was planned to visit as many points 

 in the six States in which the starling was common in 1916 as one 

 season's work by two investigators would permit. 1 Effort was 



1 Field work in the States of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, as well as on Long Island, 

 New York, was conducted by I. N. Gabrielson; and in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York (except 

 Long Island;, by E. R. Kalmbach. This involved continuous observation from the beginning of April 

 to the middle of October, a period in which all forms of damage of which the starling had been accused 

 could be investigated. The authors collaborated in the examination of the material collected and in the 

 preparation of the manuscript. 



