284 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



other creature, which, however, does not at all prove that the 

 Woodpecker may not have done so. 



November 3rd. — This morning, whilst being driven to the 

 station, I came upon a Green Woodpecker pursued by a Hawk, 

 and uttering loud cries. The Woodpecker seemed almost in the 

 grasp of the Hawk — the two were certainly touching — but it 

 managed to get clear, perhaps aided by the rattling by of the trap, 

 and the Hawk then flew off in another direction. This Hawk 

 was of a light bluish or bluish-grey colour, and seemed hardly, 

 if at all, larger than the Woodpecker. It must therefore, I think, 

 have been a Merlin. I should be glad to think I had aided in 

 the Woodpecker's escape, for it is distressing to think of such a 

 bird being done to death in such a way. 



November llth. — This morning I watched Starlings feeding 

 for some time on the lawn of a house at Richmond, where I was 

 staying. Their modus operandi is to thrust the beak repeatedly 

 and all about into the grass, at the same time opening the 

 mandibles, and continuing to open and close them under the 

 soil. They thus, as I suppose, search particularly the roots of 

 the grass, though in many, if not in all, cases they must go deeper 

 down into the soil underneath, since they wedge the bill in right 

 up to the base. They must be searching about, and biting at 

 anything they feel, to get " a taste of its quality." After some 

 time I went out and examined the grass where these Starlings 

 had been. It was quite covered with little round holes that their 

 beaks had made. I probed many of these with a skewer, the 

 depth of most being about what I should judge to be the length 

 of a Starling's beak. Some, however, were much shallower, and 

 here they seemed to have searched merely the immediate roots of 

 the grass. I dug down with my fingers into many of these holes 

 to see if they continued, as the burrows of worms, but this was 

 not the case in any instance. The tactics therefore of Starlings 

 and of Thrushes or Blackbirds in procuring food on the lawn are 

 quite different. The latter strike at a worm when they see it 

 lying with its head in the mouth of its burrow, and then, if 

 successful, pull it out by hopping backwards, as everyone knows. 

 The former search everywhere on chance, and make up for the 

 want of assurance by the continuity of their efforts. Whilst 

 watching the Starlings, here, I once or twice saw them pull up a 



