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     The Grackle found an ideal habitat on 
     
     Prince Edward Island. It first nested 
     
     at Mount Stewart about the years 1910— 
     
     1912 on the land now occupied by the 
     
     Roman Catholic Church property. This 
     
     bird was instrumental in causing a 
     
     revolution in farming practice on 
     
     P.E.I. Before the advent of the 
     
     Bronzed Grackle, grain was sown with 
     
    

    
     a broadcast seeder which scattered the 
     
     seed on top of the ground. A later 
     
     operation with flat harrows covered 
     
     the seed. When farmers used this 
     
     method, the seed was vulnerable to 
     
    

    
     the depredations of the Grackles who 
     
     would ruin a field in short order. 
     
     Some farmers tried to cover in the 
     
     seed with wheel harrows, but it did 
     
     not work well. They then had to 
     
     switch to the drill seeder which 
     
     buried the seed out of reach. 
     
    

    
     Grackles became so numerous about 
     
     Mount Stewart that the author's 
     
     grandfather had to buy a drill 
     
    

    
     seeder about 1920. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Grackles are very prominent following 
     
     the farmer as he tills the soil, 
     
     picking up worms and grubs to feed to 
     
     their young. The seeds, on the other 
     
     hand, are eaten by adults, so it is 
     
     apparent that the crop damage is due to their appetite and not to 
     
     that of their young. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     EUROPEAN STARLING 
     
    
   
   
    
     This is an abundant resident and an abundant breeder. The late 
     
     J. Frank Sterns told me by letter, dated April 22, 1959, that the 
     
     Starlings came in with a rush. He first saw them in a flock of 
     
     about 20 in February, 1931, and in a couple of years, they were 
     
     here in hundreds all over the country. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Unlike the other blackbirds which are resident for only the warmer 
     
     part of the year, the Starling is a permanent resident. In 
     
    

    
     cold weather, it shelters in buildings and cavities and also can 
     
     be seen warming itself in heat escaping from the tops of chimneys 
     
     of buildings. It will also warm one foot, holding it up to its 
     
     body while hopping about on the other. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Just how many migrate south is a good question. Probably our 
     
     summer population is replaced by a sparser more northerly one in 
     
     winter. It is also though:that birds heard in spring mimicking 
     
     birds' songs, some not native to the Island in winter, have 
     
     migrated north from warmer climates.