THE MOVEMENTS OF STARLINGS. 137 



the whole body of birds descends like an avalanche, with a 

 mighty rushing sound of wings, and covers every tree, shrub, and 

 reed with a living freight so heavy that they bend almost to the 

 earth beneath their burden. Now ensues a perfect babel of 

 chatter, which continues for several minutes, till the last " good 

 nights " have been said, and darkness and silence descend on the 

 scene. The effect of any sudden sound, such as the stroke 

 of an oar falling flat on the water, is startling. Instantly the 

 thousands of Starlings rise into the air uttering cries of alarm, 

 with much fluttering of wings, only to resettle the next minute, 

 amid congratulatory murmurs of satisfaction, till silence is again 

 restored. 



Not always, however, is the scene thus peaceful. If there is a 

 Sparrowhawk in the vicinity that has not fallen a victim to the 

 keeper's gun — alas, how few do escape — it can hardly fail to dis- 

 cover such a happy hunting-ground as this. Two of my corre- 

 spondents mention that Sparrowhawks have been seen haunting 

 the roosts, and occasionally dashing into the throng to seize a 

 Starling, its companions fleeing in every direction with mournful 

 terror-stricken screams. 



Midnight. All quiet. 



Morning dawns. The Starlings begin to wake and twitter, 

 and preen their feathers Before the sun is well up they are off; 

 scattered all over the country to their daily avocation of picking 

 up their food. Now, however, instead of keeping together in 

 families, they go about in small parties, and this habit they retain 

 throughout the remainder of the year. 



We now approach the most difficult part of our subject — the 

 movements of Starlings between the middle of November (when 

 the big roosts are nearly deserted) and the following spring, when 

 they return to their nesting-places. It would only weary the 

 reader to state all the little details upon which the following 

 conclusions are based, so I will here only indicate briefly what I 

 believe to be the actual facts. In order to make the matter clear, 

 it will facilitate matters if we divide our native Starlings into 

 three main groups : — 



(1) Starlings that migrate. 



(2) Starlings in towns. 



(3) Starlings in the country. 



