Peis tee AL UsD Ue BtOrNs BR Ulin Leal TEN 5 
Unfortunately, the hole-nesting habits of the starlings have placed it in 
competition with native birds of similar nesting habits. Bluebirds, flickers 
and martins are the birds that are most often molested in their nesting 
operations. Occasionally, a pair of starlings will attempt to destroy the 
eges and young of other birds that are nesting in the near vicinity of the 
starling’s nest. The starlings are particularly fond of annoying the martins 
and will pull out nesting material and destroy eggs until the martin colony 
is finally driven away. Young robins are sometimes killed by starlings and 
occasionally a starling will find its way into a pigeon loft where the young 
are dragged from their nests and dropped to the floor. Because of the 
starling’s habit of nesting near human habitation its activities in molesting 
other birds are very often observed. If it were to remain in deep woods 
many of its bad habits would remain unknown. Many of our native birds 
are anything but models of perfect ladies and gentlemen of the bird world. 
Just the mention of a few birds such as the house wren, blue jay, crow and 
cowbird is enough to make one realize that there are many other birds with 
equally bad habits. 
In most cases the bird student forgets to consider the relative economic 
value of the starling and the birds that are competitors for breeding sites. 
The starling as an insect eater is far superior to the robin, flicker, and the 
English sparrow, while its food habits are fully as favorable as those of 
the house wren. Only two species that the starling competes with are of 
greater economic value — the purple martin and the bluebird. Many of the 
bluebirds have disappeared from the dooryards where they once were 
common; however, in sections where they are particularly abundant, they 
have managed to hold their own, and there is little danger that the race 
will be destroyed. Properly made nest boxes with an opening of 1% inches 
in diameter provide a safe nesting site for the bluebird with little danger 
from depredations by the starling. Flickers and robins are also driven 
from the vicinity of human habitations, but they also may find safety in 
the deep woods where the starling goes less frequently. On the whole, the 
acts of vandalism on the part of the starling are so occasional that the 
effect is negligible. As the country becomes more thickly settled the 
increasing scarcity of nesting sites available to hole-nesting species becomes 
apparent. Various projects designed to clean up our woods and forests, 
making them glorified picnic grounds, are particularly hard on them. Bird 
students may furnish ample facilities in the shape of nest boxes that will 
help to restore the balance of nature. It is a comparatively easy matter 
for those who wish to reduce the local breeding population of the starling 
to equip several nest boxes with a simple trap device. 
Although a number of methods have been employed, the removal of 
objectionable tree roosts is an extremely hard task. Continual disturbance 
about the roost when the birds are coming in for the night will force them 
to re-establish the roost at some other point in the near vicinity. The use 
of shotguns, if permitted by local police, is quite effective. The frightening 
effect of the gun fire, coupled with misfortune visible to other members of 
the flock, is usually sufficient to cause the birds to move on. In places 
where the use of shotguns is forbidden, satisfactory results have been 
obtained through the use of powerful Roman candles. Bells, horns, lights, 
