138 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Anyone who observes our local birds must notice that the 

 number of Starlings in any given neighbourhood suffers a great 

 and sudden diminution some time in late autumn, and there is 

 pretty good evidence that this is caused by emigration. The Rev. 

 R. T. Kempthorne, who lived formerly in Cornwall, tells me that 

 in that county the Starling is only a winter visitor, and rarely, if 

 ever, breeds there. Mr. Howard Saunders, in his * Manual,' 

 says : — " Large flocks arrive on our east coasts in autumn, at 

 which season there is a marked migration westward, localities in 

 the interior of this country which have been frequented during 

 the summer being then almost deserted, while great numbers 

 visit the south of Ireland. . . . Throughout the greater part 

 of the Mediterranean basin it is only a cold weather visitor, 

 although at that season it occurs in almost incredible numbers." 

 Towards the end of autumn enormous flocks of Starlings and 

 Peewits appear on our western coasts, particularly in Merioneth- 

 shire, Pembrokeshire, and Cornwall. We may conclude, there- 

 fore, that a large proportion of our inland Starlings leave us then, 

 and go westwards. In reply to a letter of mine, Mr. Howard 

 Saunders writes that the Starlings in the north of Europe, where 

 in winter the ground is as hard as iron, go to the south. 



(2) Starlings in towns, during winter, assimilate in their 

 habits to Sparrows. They are hardly at all gregarious, but live 

 on housetops, feeding on anything that falls in their way. It 

 rarely happens that more than two or four are seen together, and 

 I fancy that these are paired birds returning to their old nesting- 

 places as a kind of head-quarters whence to forage around. 



(3) Starlings in the country, during winter, behave quite 

 differently ; they go about in small flocks, sometimes alone, but 

 more often in company with other birds that frequent fields, 

 especially Rooks and Peewits. Around Shrewsbury. Peewits are 

 very numerous, and it seems to me that there exists some bond 

 of sympathy between them and Starlings, for we rarely see a 

 flock of Peewits without its attendant train of Starlings. If the 

 Peewits move into the next field, the Starlings do the same; 

 while, if the former continue to wheel about in the air for some 

 time, the Starlings wait till they settle, and then rejoin them. 

 In severe weather Peewits leave the inland meadows and descend 

 to the coasts in search of food, On Dec. 11th, 1899, a hard 



