909.] r 6 9 



The following table shows the foods consumed each month: — 





c3 



p. 



< 





a 

 i-s 





be 



a 



< 



2. 



O 



> 

 o 



0) 



Q 



l"3 



1 



ft 



O 



H 



Insects, Grubs, &c. . 



5 



3 



21 



22 



18 



23 



10 



6 



2 



1 



2 



3 



116 



Roots (potatoes) 



.. 1 







11 



6 







2 















10 



6 







36 



Grain and husk 



.. 18 



22 



28 



15 



13 



26 



26 



30 



25 



20 



34 



33 



290 



Miscellaneous ... 



.. 11 



9 



5 



9 



8 



5 



2 



1 



2 



2 



1 



5 



60 



Total 



.. 35 



34 



65 



52 



39 



56 



38 



37 



29 



33 



43 



41 



502 



Here we notice that insect food is mostly taken in May, 

 June, July, and August, which is what one would expect. 

 Inspection of the root group shows that a rush, never very strong, 

 takes place only in May and December. Turning next to the 

 line for cereal grains and husks, we are at once struck by the 

 exceeding frequency of this kind of food. Grain and husk is 

 indeed the heaviest item in the bill of fare for all the months 

 excepting June and July. 



The result of this investigation into the food of Rooks is to 

 confirm me in the opinion I have long held that Rooks, in the 

 enormous quantities in which we have them in some counties, do 

 an immense amount of damage ; and I would urge those who have 

 the control of rookeries to see that the numbers of their inmates 

 are kept within reasonable limits. 



It may be said at once that the Starling comes out of the 

 examination with flying colours, and must be regarded most 

 certainly as a friend of the farmer — (I say nothing about the 

 gardener because we do not know.) 190 Starlings were examined; 

 the number of food items found in these birds is 261. The 

 range of staple food stuffs for the bird seems extremely small ; all 

 may be grouped into : — 



1. Grubs. 



2. Insects, etc. 



3. Cereal grain. 



4. Miscellaneous. 



D 



