the Rook, Starling and Chaffinch. 
49 
found the writers are inclined to look upon it as neutral. The 
question largely depends upon how many of the seeds that 
they have eaten germinate after expulsion. The part the 
chaffinch plays as an Aphis destroyer is not accurately shown 
by an examination of the crops, but the following summary 
gives an idea of the relative harm and good done by the birds 
examined : — - 
Total Summary of Food. 
Harmful 
Beneficial 
No. of 
Organisms. 
Organisms. 
Birds. 
January to December, 1912 . 
565 
1 57 
286 
January to December, 1913. 
225 
399 
171 
January to May, 1914 
120 
187 
70 
910 
743 
527 
REPORT ON THE FOOD FOUND IN THE 
ROOK, STARLING AND CHAFFINCH. 
H. S. Leigh, M.Sc., 
Manchester University. 
In the autumn of 1908 a Committee was formed to investigate 
the feeding habits of certain birds, the economic position of 
which affects agricultural science. 
It was decided that attention should at first be concentrated 
on three species, viz., rook, starling and chaffinch. For some 
considerable time there has been much doubt and discussion 
regarding the economic status of these three birds, and it was 
felt that a properly organised enquiry should be conducted with 
a view to deciding whether all or any of the three species under 
consideration are beneficial or injurious to agricultural and 
horticultural interests in the British Isles. 
The following paper is a brief account of the work which has 
been done on the feeding habits of the rook, starling and 
chaffinch up to the present time. The work has been carried 
on in the Zoological Department of the University of Man- 
chester. 
It has not yet been possible to publish a complete and 
detailed tabulation of the crop and gizzard contents. Complete 
tabulated statements of the food of the rook, starling and 
chaffinch have been made, and other elaborate tables and 
deductions are in course of preparation ; these particulars will 
be incorporated in a fuller account which it is hoped may be 
published in the near future. 
D 
