ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE STARLING. 



39 



Table II. — Monthly percentages of the various items in the food of adult starlings {see 



fig. 2). 





























Month- 



Kind of food. 



Jan. 



Feb. 



Mar. 



Apr. 



May. 



June. 



July. 



Aug. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



Nov. 



Dec. 



ly av- 

 erages. 





14.10 

 1.23 



20.16 



0.42 



7.97 

 1.07 



4.35 

 7.31 



4.31 

 8.76 



7.39 

 7.96 



13.36 

 9.11 



10.91 

 13.02 



3.93 



12.93 



3.13 

 4.56 



5.33 

 1.16 



7.00 

 1.12 



8.50 



Ground beetles 



5.71 



May beetles 



0.14 





0.27 



4.52 



11.04 



3.28 



4.08 



0.45 



0.38 



2.60 



0.10 



0.05 



2.24 



Other beetles 



2.27 



0.49 



2.39 



6.55 



6.23 



4.56 



3.70 



1.76 



0.75 



1.15 



2.27 



5.54 



3.14 



Grasshoppers 



4.42 



0.55 



2.61 



1.59 



0.84 



1.24 



2.77 



22.30 



30.75 



38.95 



38.26 



4.76 



12.41 



Caterpillars 



3.88 



1.04 



5.24 



5.56 



13.97 



20.56 



4.57 



3.69 



0.83 



2.16 



5.69 



5.26 



6.04 





0.44 



0.04 



0.66 



54.69 



42.19 



23.66 



3.68 



0.20 



4.11 



7.64 



1.24 



2.02 



11.71 



Miscellaneous ani- 





mal matter • 



3.91 



3.07 



6.23 



5.26 



6.98 



10.80 



5.71 



5.56 



3.56 



11.83 



3.01 



5.05 



5.93 



Garbage (animal').. 



1.69 



2.40 



8.15 



1.39 



0.63 



0.32 



0.35 



0.32 





0.23 





0.36 



1.32 



Garbage (vege- 





























table) 



40.56 



35.97 



41.25 



6.76 



4.58 



1.04 



1.49 



0.34 



0.54 



3.61 





26.62 



13.57 















17.01 



14.92 













2.66 



Other cultivated 



5.84 



0.66 



2.87 



0.76 





1.06 





0.50 



2.19 



0.38 



0.96 



5.78 



1.75 





19.98 



32.90 



13.69 



0.34 





1.12 



35.82 



40.88 



39.57 



23.76 



41.80 



36.44 





Wild fruits 



23.86 





1.54 



2.30 



7.60 



0.92 



0.47 





0.44 



0.07 



0.46 





0.18 





1.16 







1 Under this heading are included Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, and other miscellaneous insects, 

 spiders, and mollusKs. 



OBSERVATIONS FROM BLIND. 



Few birds are more voracious than young starlings, and when 

 there are from 4 to 6 to feed, it requires the most strenuous efforts of 

 their naturally active parents to supply their constant needs. An 

 insight into the feeding operations was obtained near Closter, N. J., 

 by means of a blind, from which a nestful of 5 young starlings could 

 be watched at close range. This blind was so placed that the opening 

 made for observation was within 2 feet of the nest cavity. This was 

 located about 6 feet from the ground in the hollow limb of an apple 

 tree. In watching these birds, attempt was made to identify the 

 food brought in and to determine the frequency of feeding. 



Efforts at identification met with little success, as in no case could 

 an item be specifically identified, even though much of the food was 

 carried in plain view at the tip of the bill of the parent bird and often 

 within 18 inches of the eyes of the observer. The alertness of the 

 bird prevented more than a momentary glance at the food it carried\ 

 Such identifications as "cutworms," " earthworms," " grasshoppers," 

 and "ground beetles" were the best that could be made under, the 

 circumstances; and then, since fully a third of the food of the star- 

 ling is carried where it is partially or wholly concealed at the base of 

 the bill or in the throat, this phase of the observations afforded few 

 facts of value — very little compared with the detailed data secured 

 from stomach examination. It was noted, however, that rainfall had 

 a distinct effect on the character of food brought to the young. Dur- 

 ing showery weather or on days succeeding rainy nights large quan- 

 tities of earthworms and cutworms were secured. The main source 

 of this supply was a near-by garden. A low meadow was a favorite 



