ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE STARLING. 22 
near Flemington, N. J. Only one had failed to eat such food, which 
on the average formed 27.8 per cent of the bulk. In point of num- 
bers, a starling collected at New Haven, Conn., takes the honors. In 
this bird’s stomach were the remains of no less than 40 caterpillars, 
which formed 98 per cent of the food. 
_ The terrestrial feeding habits of the starling limit the variety of 
caterpillars eaten, but this very restriction has permitted the bird to 
distinguish itself as a most effective enemy of that notorious pest, 
the cutworm. While caterpillar remains are not the most satis- 
factory items for identification in stomach contents and only occa- 
sionally are in condition for specific determination, the material in 
fully two-thirds of the starling stomachs could be referred with a 
fair degree of certainty to the family Noctuide. 
Corroborative of what stomach examination has revealed is a bit 
of testimony secured from field observations on a farm at Adelphia, 
N. J., where starlings were observed doing exceptionally good work 
on the army worm. A rather heavy infestation of this insect had 
resulted in considerable damage, when a large flock of juvenile star- 
lings started to feed regularly in the infested area; within a few days 
the worms had practically disappeared from those fields. 
That other terrestrial caterpillars may find an enemy in the starling 
is recorded by an observer near Bloomfield, N. J., who, in the fall of 
1915, witnessed starlings feeding on the larve of the cabbage butterfly. 
In only a few instances were hairy or spiny caterpillars found in 
stomachs of adults. Among these were the American tent cater- 
pillar (Malacosoma americana), an arctiid, and a “silver spot” 
(Argynnis cybele). One reason for not finding more spiny or hairy 
caterpillars may be explained by an incident observed at Norwalk, 
Conn., where a starling was seen to eat a tent caterpillar much after 
the fashion of the Baltimore oriole, by forcing out the soft parts and 
leaving the hairy skin hanging on the limb. 
MISCELLANEOUS INSECTS. 
Of other orders of insects from which starlings secure part of their 
sustenance, Hymenoptera, including bees, wasps, and ants, is best 
represented. This is of little importance, however, as the average 
monthly percentage is only 1.75, a great part of which is composed 
oi ants. Most of this food is consumed during the summer, the 
monthly percentages from April to October inclusive being as follows: 
1.11, 3.33, 3.41, 2.56, 2.14, 2.49, and 3.79. None of the late fall, 
winter, or early spring months were represented by as much as 1 
per cent. 
Connected with the capture of Hymenoptera is one of the oddest 
activities of the starling. While primarily terrestrial feeders, soon 
after the first of August young starlings were seen catching insects on 
