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



that on isolated plantations migrating starlings sometimes take the 

 entire olive crop. 



In 13 of 18 general articles on the starling in Great Britain it 

 is stated that the bird is more beneficial than injurious; one article 

 says that while the bird is valuable now^ its habits are undergoing 

 a change for the worse, and four state that although very useful in 

 grasslands and forests, the starling is entirely too numerous for the 

 best interests of fruit growers. Exhaustive investigations of the 

 bird's habits have been made by Gilmour, Newstead, Collinge, and 

 the national board of agriculture. After reviewing the whole question 

 of the starling's economic status the board of agriculture concludes 5 

 that ' ' on the whole * * * the information at present collected 

 goes to show that, in view of their great partiality for insect food, 

 starlings are, from the forest standpoint, entirely useful, whilst in 

 agriculture and gardening their usefulness far more than outweighs 

 the occasional harm done." 



Summing up, it may be said that in Europe the verdict on the star- 

 ling is distinctly favorable; of 35 works dealing in a general way with 

 the economic status of the bird, only 7 report adversely. It is note- 

 worthy, moreover, that the findings of all the thorough and more 

 scientific investigators have been in favor of the species, although 

 some authors admit that at present starlings are too numerous in 

 some localities. 



In most countries where the bird has been introduced, the case is 

 different. In Australia and Tasmania testimony concerning starlings 

 is generally unfavorable. Their great faults are driving away native 

 birds and preying upon fruits. They have by no means lost their 

 insectivorous tastes in their new home; in fact, they are credited 

 with suppressing plagues of grubs and crickets which destroy grain 

 and grass. Their numbers have become so great, however, that after 

 the breeding season enormous flocks band together and at times 

 descend upon orchards, vineyards, or gardens, where they make 

 great havoc with the crops. 



The introduction of the starling into New Zealand does not seem 

 to have resulted so unfavorably as in Australia. In 1907, just 40 

 years after the first importation, James Drummond published an 

 account of the activities of the species in that country. 6 His con- 

 clusions were based on the testimony submitted by many farmers who 

 had experience with the birds, and were to the effect that the starling 

 was one of the most valuable of insectivorous birds. 



6 Board Agr. and Fisheries (London), Leaflet 45, Rev. ed., 4 p., June, 1905. 

 « New Zealand Dept. Agr., Div. Biol, and Hort., Bull. 16, 1907. 



