NOTES ON A SUFFOLK STARLING ROOST R. J. CoPPING
FOR the past three winters, Starlings estimated at some 150,000 in number have been roosting among four acres of hawthorn at Little London, near Stowmarket, Suffolk. Every morning, just after daybreak, eight distinct flocks depart at regulär five minute intervals to their chosen feeding grounds. One such feeding ground is fifteen miles away as the Starling flies. While looking for dead and ailing birds under the roost, I found (in a two hour search) no fewer than 203 elastic bands and odd pieces of string, which had been eaten by the Starlings possibly in mistake for earthworms. Whether these bands actually passed through the Starlings' digestive tracts or were regurgitated it is difficult to say. On washing the bands I found several were entangled with hair and were quite inseparable. Others were very large, the largest being 8 ins. in length and f ins. in width. Possibly some smaller bands pass through their bodies though the majority keep in their crops until regurgitated during the night. Dead birds apparently in perfect condition could possibly have died through blockages in their intestines. Between November and February, poultry rearing farmers find these birds a pest, as large numbers feed on fowl pellets, etc., at their expense. Although steps have been taken to get rid of the birds, i.e., by automatic scarers, organised shooting, and even narcotics, all have proved ineffective. The origin of these wintering birds is believed to be continental, as rings found on the legs of dead birds have all had Dutch registration.