>One other note--since the cold weather started, the cat food that my wife
>kindly leaves for the neighborhood's outdoor cats has been eaten
>continuously by starlings. I have had very few starlings at my feeders,
>but boy do they like cheap SAfeway cat food (now everyone will put out
>cat food to deter starlings at the feeder :) ). RK
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Ray Korpi

Ray, you must not have been around for the "dreaded cat thread," or you
wouldn't have written the above. A lot of hackles raised, I suspect, when
people read about subsidizing "the neighborhood's outdoor cats," and even
more probably felt incensed at the thought of subsidizing both cats *and*
starlings! Prepare for a flame (or maybe my few comments will make such an
event unnecessary).

Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416