ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE STARLING. 31 



from outside observers. No grapes were found in the stomachs ex- 

 amined and no damage of this kind was observed by representatives 

 of the Biological Survey. A farmer in the Brookdale section north 

 of Bloomfield, N. J., reported that starlings had severely damaged 

 grapes on a small arbor on his farm, and similar complaints came 

 from a number of farmers in the neighboring sections about Rich- 

 field, N. J. No damage was reported in the extensive vineyards 

 about Vineland, in southern New Jersey, but as the starling was not 

 yet abundant there this can not be looked upon as an indication of 

 its innocence. As in the case of apples, the injury to grapes is at 

 present trivial in the aggregate and is practically nil in extensive 

 grape-raising sections, but from the starling's reputation in some 

 parts of Europe it will bear watching in these surroundings. 



CORN. 



Probably the losses to crops most keenly felt by the farmers living 

 in the intensively cultivated area in northeastern New Jersey, about 

 the cities of Hackensack, Bloomfield, Elizabeth, and Newark, are 

 those inflicted by grain-eating birds on sweet corn. During July 

 and August mixed flocks, sometimes numbering into the thousands, 

 of grackles, red-winged blackbirds, cowbirds, and, in recent years, 

 starlings, roam through the country, securing the bulk of their sus- 

 tenance from cornfields. Sweet corn, just ready for market, is torn 

 open, some of the juicy kernels eaten, and the ear either rendered 

 unsalable or its market value considerably reduced. In the aggre- 

 gate such losses are very great and in the eyes of the farmers of 

 northeastern New Jersey, the starling is to blame for a large share of 

 the damage. However, as in the case of men, who are often judged 

 by their company, the starling has been accused of deeds perpetrated 

 largely by the species with which it associates. Not only were these 

 birds generally charged with eating as much corn as the grackles 

 and red-wings, an assumption which has been disproved, but many 

 farmers were uncertain of their identification, with the result that 

 flocks of juvenile red-wings were often called starlings and their 

 depredations charged against the latter. 



Of the total of 2,301 adult starling stomachs examined, 52 con- 

 tained corn, and this formed less than 1 per cent (0.77) of their yearly 

 food. Of the 1,059 starlings collected during the ripening and har- 

 vesting season of July, August, September, and October, only 14 

 had fed on corn, which constituted only 0.2 per cent of their food 

 during this period. In the planting and sprouting season of April 

 and May, 6 of 249 adult starlings had fed on corn, which formed 0.52 

 per cent of the food. By far the largest part of the corn eaten by 

 starlings is waste grain secured in winter and early spring. In Jan- 



