THE ROSE-COLORED PASTOR. 



319 



WE now come to the true Starlings, or Sturninse, as they are scientifically termed. In 

 these birds the bill is almost straight, tapering, and elongated, slightly flattened at the top, 

 and with a hardly perceptible notch. Two examples of this group are found in Europe, the 

 first and rarest of which is the ROSE-COLORED PASTOB. 



These birds are very common in many countries, and in some parts of India are so numer- 

 ous that forty or fifty have been killed at a single shot, and they are said by agriculturists to 

 be hardly less destructive than locusts. Like the common Starling, the Rose-colored Pastor 

 always flies in flocks, and seems to possess many of the habits which belong to the beef-eaters, 

 perching on the backs of cattle and feeding on the parasitic insects and grubs which are gen- 

 erally found in such situations. On account of this habit of frequenting the cattle-field and 

 the sheep-fold, the bird has received the title of Pastor, or shepherd. It feeds chiefly on 

 insects, but in the autumn months varies its diet with ripe fruits. 



The Rose-colored Pastor possesses a rather flexible voice ; its ordinary cry is rather harsh 

 and grating, but the bird is able to modulate its voice so as to imitate the tones of various 



ROSE-COLORED PASTOS.-Pastor roeeue. 



other members of the feathered tribe. One of these birds, that was domesticated by a person 

 who had slightly wounded it and afterwards tended it until it had recovered, was so good a 

 mimic that an excellent judge of songsters, who had heard its voice without seeing the bird 

 from which it proceeded, thought that he was listening to a concert of two starlings, two gold- 

 finches, and some songster, probably a siskin. This bird was fed upon insects and barley -meal 

 moistened with milk. 



It is a remarkably pretty and conspicuous bird ; the beautiful crest which decorates the 

 crown and the delicate tints of the plumage rendering it easily distinguishable from any of its 

 kin. The head is ornamented with a crest of long, flowing feathers, which are of a jetty black 

 glossed with violet ; and the neck, wings, and tail are of the same hue. The chin, throat, 

 front of the neck, thighs, and under tail-coverts are also black, but without the blue gloss. 

 The back, scapularies, breast, sides, and abdomen are of a beautiful rose-pink ; the legs and 

 toes are yellowish-brown, and the beak yellow with a dash of rose. The total length of this 

 species is between eight and nine inches. The bird does not attain this beautiful plumage 

 until the third year ; in the first year there is no crest at all, and the plumage is simply colored 



