293 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



my hospital window, they appeared to be in a 

 perpetual state of extreme hunger and were al- 

 ways running over the ground, rapidly prodding 

 as they moved, and apparently finding their food 

 almost exclusively on the surface — that is to say, 

 on the surface of the soil but under the grass, 

 at its surface roots. At other seasons they go 

 deep when they know from the appearance of 

 every blade of grass whether or not there is a 

 grub feeding on its roots beneath the surface. 

 Without shooting and examining the stomachs of 

 a large number of starlings it was not possible to 

 know just what the food consisted of; but with 

 my strong binocular on them I could make out 

 that at almost every dig of the beak something 

 was picked up, and could actually see it when the 

 beak was held up with the minute morsel at its 

 tip — a small, thread-like, semi-transparent worm 

 or grub in most instances. Two or three of these 

 atomies would hardly have made a square meal 

 for a ladybird, and I should think that a starling 

 after swallowing a thousand would feel very 

 hungry. And on many days this scanty, watery 

 food had to be searched for in very painful con- 

 ditions, as it rained heavily on most days and 



