ON THE JUVENILE PLUMAGE OE THE STARLING 3 



tidal waters, and shores of these northern isles, and it is just 

 this personal touch which renders the paper so readable. 

 Shags, Cormorants, Herring-gulls, Rock-doves, and Eider 

 Ducks were among the birds closely and attentively watched 

 by the author, whose "reflections" are certainly worthy of 

 the ornithologist's serious consideration. 



We note with pleasure that Mr Henry Coates has been 

 appointed Curator of the Perthshire Natural History Museum, 

 as successor to the late Alexander M. Rodger. This is the 

 more interesting to us, as Mr Coates was a contributor to 

 the pages of the Scottish Natm-alist from its earliest days. 



ON THE JUVENILE PLUMAGE OF THE STAR- 

 LING {STURNUS VULGARIS) FROM THE 

 SHETLAND ISLANDS. 



By Claud B. Ticehurst, M.A., M.B.O.U. 



At a meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club on 12th 

 November 1913^ Mr Ogilvie Grant exhibited specimens 

 of the Starling from Shetland, and called attention to the 

 juvenile plumage of these specimens, pointing out that they 

 differed from the specimens of similar age obtained on the 

 mainland of Great Britain in having the "general colour 

 above dark sooty black, and the under parts of the same 

 colour but a degree paler ; the chin and upper part of the 

 throat white, in marked contrast to the rest of the plumage ; 

 and the outer webs of the flight feathers, greater coverts, 

 and tail feathers narrowly edged with pale rufous." 



The juvenile plumage of most birds is a very variable one, 

 and the Starling is no exception. Dealing with the rufous 

 edges to the wings and tail feathers first, I find that such 

 colouring is the rule in most specimens in fresh feather, 

 whether from Shetland, Orkney, St Kilda, or the mainland. 



1 Bull. B.O.C., cxcii., pp. 63-4. 



