136 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



whole of my choice carnations were attacked by wireworms, and 

 I noticed Starlings continually amongst the plants. This appears 

 to bear out Mr. Meredith's suggestion." Dr. Sankey says :— 

 " Starlings feed greatly on animal food ; those that I dissected 

 some time back had their crops full of caterpillars," and they pick 

 them off oak trees when infested. The stomachs of some that 

 were killed at Shawbury during frosty weather in December 

 were found to contain spurts from wheat, as well as spurting 

 wheat-grains, and a few small weed-seeds. The damage done 

 to one wheat-field necessitated its being resown. On the other 

 hand, Mr. Beckwith found that no bird checked the ravages of 

 the Agrotis moth so effectually as the Starling. 



To return to our subject. As soon as the young are able to 

 fly the Starlings go out every morning to feed, keeping together 

 in family parties, and particularly frequenting meadows where 

 sheep and cattle are grazing, to pick up the insects disturbed by 

 their feet. They return each night to the nest to roost. The 

 young grow so rapidly, however, that soon there is not room for 

 them in the nest. In this emergency some other sleeping-place 

 has to be found, and what place would so naturally recur to the 

 minds of the parent birds as the spot where they roosted in the 

 previous autumn ? The parents and children start off together, 

 and on the way fall in with another little family party bent on 

 the same errand ; then another and another, till, by the time the 

 tryst is reached, the flock numbers several hundreds. Perhaps 

 for the first few evenings the total assemblage will not be very 

 large, but as successive families realize the necessity of quitting 

 their nesting-places the congress increases night by night. Very 

 few sights in the bird-world are so impressive as one of these 

 great gatherings of the clans. About an hour before sunset the 

 first flocks begin to arrive at the appointed place. These do not 

 settle down at once, but continue to fly around ; soon other 

 flocks arrive in quick succession from all points of the compass, 

 till the heavens are literally darkened by the cloudy masses of 

 birds. They now proceed to execute in the air a series of com- 

 plicated evolutions, like regiments of soldiers on a review day — 

 charging forwards, wheeling to right and left, crossing and re- 

 crossing over and under, converging and diverging, coalescing 

 and separating, till at last, just after sunset, as if by one consent, 



