THE RESCUE OF MR. AND MRS. STARLING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20958, 22 August 1931, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE RESCUE OF MR. AND MRS. STARLING.

By ALICE A. KENNY. " I can't do it," said Mrs. Starling, trying in vain to spread her wings. " Try again!" exclaimed Mr. Starling, speaking thickly because his beak was full of dried grass. 110 was perched on the edge of one of those narrow iron stove-pipe chimneys that one often sees coming out of wash house roofs, looking down at Mrs. Starling. It was spring time and they were searching for a place in which to build their

nest. They liked warm nooks for their little ones, and this cosy little black hole looked just the right place to Mrs. Starling. She folded her wings and slipped in to examine it while Mr." Starling waited on the top. She expected to find it only a lew inches deep, but alas! down she went until she was nearly two feet below the'top. That frightened her and she A said it was too deep for a nest and tried - to fly out again to her little shining mate. But she found that it was not only too deep, it was too narrow also, for she could not spread her wings to fly. -|f Poor little Mrs. Starling! If this stovepipe had been in use she would have t dropped down and down until she was at the bottom of a long funnel, but. the reason -she was only a little way down was a sad enough one. The chimney was stopped up with rubbish and drifted leaves and twigs, and on top of these the hones of other starlings who had flown down to look for nesting places and been trapped there, and died with no one to help them. Littlo Mrs. Starling was not clever enough to know about this, but she soon found that sho could not get out, and grew frantic with fright. She clawed with her little feet, and fluttered with cramped wings, and Mr. Starling dropped his grass and fluttered and chirped too, and flaw away and came back, and chattered vvsth anxiety. . Presently the little trapped bird Jay quiet just panting with fright and looking up at the far off sky. Mr. Starling was taking a wide circle round the shea, and she felt deserted and lost. But in a minute lie was back, holding on to the edge and peering in. ana she roused herself to make another effort. "Don't come down! Don t colll ® down!" she chirped as he rose and hovered . ready to dart in. . Now it just happened very luckily lor , Mr. and Mrs. Starling that a little boy who loved birds was playing about xn-tue garden that day. I'f you love and notice birds you soon get to know what their. different calls mean, to know whether they are scolding pussy from some safe place, or calling their fledgelings, or in real danger. , , Charlie knew the saucy whistlings ana clucking that a starling makes when it is happv, and lie soon noticed Mr. Starling s distress. He watched him>flyi"g about the wash-house chimney, ancl listened to his troubled chattering. The little shiumg fellow seemed unable to keep away from that uninteresting, rusty pipe, and suddenly down into it he went. . • Charlie stared at. tho chimney waiting for him. to reappear, but minutes passed and there was no reappearance of the bird. Charlie got a ladder and climbed on to the low roof. He could hear scrambling sounds before he reached the pipe,. and when he looked down, bright, despairing eyes looked up at him. He reached down and gently captured Mr. Starling s " palpitating body and loosed him in _ 1 free air again, and then lifted the o , little bird out, Mrs. Starling was whury ... and the joy of being safe and free toon _ away all her weariness. . , Away circled the rescued pair, anci . Charlie's heart swelled with joy at having saved them. Then, being a practical too*, he cleared out the chimney and fastened some fine meshed wire across it soJAa no more unhappy birds should i there.. . ■ , ' "