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



per cent of the contents. A New Jersey bird taken in the same month 

 had made 60 per cent of its meal on weevils, as follows: 3 Hypera 

 punctata, 9 Sitona hispidula, 1 Sitonaflavescens, 1 Phytonomus nigri- 

 rostris, 1 Sphenophorus parvalus, and fragments of one other weevil. 

 An August bird taken in Connecticut had eaten 13 Hypera punctata, 

 3 Phytonomus nigrirostris, and 1 other weevil, making of these 72 

 per cent of its meal. Another bird from the same State collected 

 in January had eaten 9 Hypera punctata, 2 Sitona hispidula, and 3 

 Sphenophorus parvulus, which formed 50 per cent of the total 

 stomach contents. 



From the foregoing data it is evident that the starling is a very 

 effective enemy of such weevils as feed on grass or forage crops. 

 This is particularly noticeable in regard to the clover pests, and it 

 is safe to assert that the starling is the most effective bird enemy of the 

 clover weevil in America. 



It seems natural that the Carabidse, or ground beetles, being to a 

 large extent grass-inhabiting forms, should be present in the star- 

 ling's food, of which they constitute 5.71 per cent. As this family 

 contains both beneficial and injurious insects it will be necessary to 

 consider it in some detail. During the months from April to October, 

 inclusive, carabids furnish a considerable portion of the food, varying 

 from 4.56 per cent in October to 13.02 in August. They are among 

 the first beetles to appear in spring, and are promptly sought for 

 by the starling. This is strikingly shown by their increase in the 

 food from 1.07 per cent in March to 7.31 per cent in April. The maxi- 

 mum consumption of these insects is in August and September (13.02 

 per cent and 12.93 per cent, respectively, of the food). During the 

 other months the number taken is small and in no case forms much 

 more than 1 per cent. 



Inasmuch as ground beetles seldom occur in nature in as great 

 numbers as some of the plant-feeding beetles, their presence in star- 

 ling stomachs is usually limited to a few individuals. They were 

 found, however, in moderate numbers in nearly every stomach col- 

 lected during the summer. 



Comparatively few of the large predatory carabids of the genera 

 Carabus and Calosoma are captured by the starling, as, of 2,301 birds, 

 only 20 had eaten the former and 3 the latter. Pterostichus, a genus 

 of small beetles living largely on animal matter, was found more 

 frequently, 160 birds out of 2,301 having fed on it. One member of 

 this genus, P. lucublandus, a medium-sized beetle, was found in 102 

 stomachs. Thirteen birds had captured members of the genus Di- 

 cselus, a highly beneficial group which feeds on insects, and 67 had 

 eaten various species of Platynus, beetles with somewhat similar food 

 habits. Ninety-five stomachs contained members of the genus 



