Bill Lawrence wrote:

>>after a few, very
>few meals the hawks rebelled and would not eat enough [starlings] to keep
>them fit to
>fly. chucked the lot...

There is still controversy about whether more birds than we think might be
distasteful (and even conspicuously colored accordingly). A few are
definitely known to be distasteful, but very few documented so far. Some
people have theorized that about crows and magpies, although some predators
do indeed eat them. The starling anecdote is interesting in that light.

Dennis Paulson, Director 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