30 BULLETIN 868, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the fruit in the tree top showed that probably not over 5 per cent of 
the apples had been pecked. 
At Glen Cove, N. Y., a flock of about 100 starlings was noted 
attacking the fruit in one tree of an orchard where damage had been 
reported in previous years. On this occasion about one apple in 
every five was damaged. The owner of this orchard, who was a keen 
observer of birds, asserted that starlings had ruined 10 per cent of 
his crop in 1915. Of 30 barrels picked, 3 had to be discarded. 
Isolated apple trees, especially those standing in the middle of 
hay fields where flocks of juvenile birds are accustomed to feed on 
insects, are likely to have their fruit damaged. Such a tree at 
East Norwalk, Conn., had nearly every apple pecked, and a similar 
one was found near Farmington, N. J., but in neither case was the 
crop of any value, and it was never harvested. 
Late-maturing varieties are more likely to be attacked by star- 
lings than those ripening at the height of the apple season, owing 
possibly to the fact that the supply of wild fruit, as wild black cherry 
(Prunus serotina) and sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica), has been mate- 
rially depleted by that time. The starling’s taste for apples, com- 
bined with its flocking habit, presents a condition which should be 
watched because of the bids capacity for damage. At present, 
however, the aggregate damage done is not great. On no farm 
elven largely to fruit-raising, where the trees were thrifty and well 
kept, was injury to apples observed or reported. The number of 
extensive fruit raisers in areas of staring abundance who had no 
complaint to make is legion. At present the bulk of the damage is 
confined to old orchards and isolated trees. In many cases the 
damaged fruit is on trees sadly neglected and of inferior quality. 
PEARS AND PEACHES. 
In only three stomachs was the pulp of pears found (twice in Sep- 
tember and once in January) and field work also yielded little posi- 
tive evidence that the starling damages this fruit. One report from 
Ambler, Pa., asserted that in 1915 starlings had ruined a whole tree 
of pears; additional reports of damage came from Bloomfield, N. J., 
but in none of these was the loss great. Injury to peaches is also 
slight—one of the more specific reports came from a farmer of 
Warren, R. I., who stated that in 1914 he had lost about 2 per cent 
of his crop on account of starlings. 
GRAPES. 
To a limited extent starlings have exhibited in this country the 
same habits that have made them unpopular during late summer 
in the vineyards of France. Testimony on this point comes entirely 
eT Pe oer a 
