ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE STAELING. 53 



cowbird, or the English sparrow, and that in this competition for food 

 the meadowlark is the only species whose added difficulty in sustain- 

 ing itself is to be deplored. 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



Very little evidence is at hand regarding the natural enemies of the 

 starling. At Norwalk, Conn., a cat was seen carrying a freshly 

 caught fledgling; and it is probable that a number are thus captured, 

 as cats are numerous in the whole region. Far more robins, catbirds, 

 and other birds are destroyed in this manner, however, for starlings 

 are better protected in the nest and are also able to fly better when 

 they leave the nest than are many of our common native birds. 



Hawks were several times noted flying with or about flocks of star- 

 lings without attempting to capture any of them. At Bay Shore, 

 N. Y., a curious performance was noted on three successive after- 

 noons. A pair of sparrow hawks used the dead tops of several large 

 locust trees as a lookout point for their hunting. Late in the after- 

 noons the starlings appeared in this locality on their way to roost. 

 As they passed, the sparrow hawks darted out, apparently in pursuit, 

 but they never struck a bird. Instead, both the starling flock and 

 sparrow hawks went through a series of intricate evolutions, appar- 

 ently alternating in the role of pursuer and pursued. Occasionally 

 the performance would be varied by a starling swooping down on a 

 hawk as it perched on a limb, driving it off : then followed the same 

 evolutions as when the hawk was the aggressor. 



At Freehold, N. J., a sharp-shinned hawk was seen diving into a 

 tree full of young starlings, but the latter, rushing to the center of 

 the thick foliage, escaped harm. At Glen Cove, N. Y., a Cooper 

 hawk was observed to dart from a tree into a passing flock of starlings 

 and, striking one, to carry it away. A young starling was found also 

 in a nest of a Cooper hawk at Wilton, Conn. These instances are 

 enough to show that the birds of prey have learned to take their toll 

 from the newcomer, but give little basis for any estimate as to their 

 effect in checking its increase and spread. 



Many of the starlings collected were heavily infested with intestinal 

 parasites, but no evidence was secured as to the effect these might 

 have on the mortality of the birds. 



Cold weather seems to have some effect in checking the increase of 

 starlings as in the vicinity of winter roosts it is common to find dead 

 birds. This is particularly true in northern New Jersey, the region of 

 their greatest abundance. 



