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



the fruit in the tree top showed that probably not over 5 per cent of 

 the apples had been pecked. 



At Glen Cove, N. Y., a flock of about 100 starlings was noted 

 attacking the fruit in one tree of an orchard where damage had been 

 reported in previous years. On this occasion about one apple in 

 every five was damaged. The owner of this orchard, who was a keen 

 observer of birds, asserted that starlings had ruined 10 per cent of 

 his crop in 1915. Of 30 barrels picked, 3 had to be discarded. 



Isolated apple trees, especially those standing in the middle of 

 hay fields where flocks of juvenile birds are accustomed to feed on 

 insects, are likely to have their fruit damaged. Such a tree at 

 East Norwalk, Conn., had nearly every apple pecked, and a similar 

 one- was found near Farmington, N. J., but in neither case was the 

 crop of any value, and it was never harvested. 



Late-maturing varieties are more likely to be attacked by star- 

 lings than those ripening at the height of the apple season, owing 

 possibly to the fact that the supply of wild fruit, as wild black cherry 

 (Prunus serotina) and sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica), has been mate- 

 rially depleted by that time. The starling's taste for apples, com- 

 bined with its flocking habit, presents a condition which should be 

 watched because of the bird's capacity for damage. At present, 

 however, the aggregate damage done is not great. On no farm 

 given largely to fruit-raising, where the trees were thrifty and well 

 kept, was injury to apples observed or reported. The number of 

 extensive fruit raisers in areas of starling abundance who had no 

 complaint to make is legion. At present the bulk of the damage is 

 confined to old orchards and isolated trees. In many cases the 

 damaged fruit is on trees sadly neglected and of inferior quality. 



PEARS AND PEACHES. 



In only three stomachs was the pulp of pears found (twice in Sep- 

 tember and once in January) and field work also yielded little posi- 

 tive evidence that the starling damages this fruit. One report from 

 Ambler, Pa., asserted that in 1915 starlings had ruined a whole tree 

 of pears; additional reports of damage came from Bloomfield, N. J., 

 but in none of these was the loss great. Injury to peaches is also 

 slight — one of the more specific reports came from a farmer of 

 Warren, R. I., who stated that in 1914 he had lost about 2 per cent 

 of his crop on account of starlings. 



GRAPES. 



To a limited extent starlings have exhibited in this country the 

 same habits that have made them unpopular during late summer 

 in the vineyards of France. Testimony on this point comes entirely 



