THE STARLING. 109 



fired, and the little birds were at once saved from their enemy, for he fell to 

 the ground, dead. 



The shrike has several notes that resemble those of the other birds, but 

 none of his notes approach to anything like a song. When he is alarmed, he 

 screams loudly as the hawk does. 



The bird in the picture is called the magpie shrike, and is found in 

 Australia, where he is very abundant. He is very fierce after his prey, which 

 he kills by impaling it. 



There are a great many different members of the shrike family, but the 

 grey shrike and the red-backed shrike are those that visit England. 



THE STARLING. 



The starlings are a large and widely-spread family of birds, rather larger 

 than the thrush and the blackbird, and yet smaller than the rook. There is 

 but one member of the family in England, and that is our familiar friend the 

 common starling. He is a handsome bird, his black plumage glossed with 

 green and purple ; and when he has reached his second year his beak is a 

 brilliant yellow. He is as intelligent as he is handsome, and can be taught to 

 whistle tunes and articulate words almost as well as the parrot. 



The company of the starlings about the house and garden is always 

 pleasant. They are very sociable, and seem to live together in great harmony. 

 Often they feed with the rooks, and pick up worms in the field. The nest 

 is made in the eaves of a church steeple, or in holes in walls and ruins. It 

 is built of straw and roots, or dry grass, and the eggs are a delicate pale 

 blue colour. 



In the fenny parts of England, the young birds, when they are too large 

 for the nests, roost among the reeds and bushes in the swampy-likc districts 

 of the country by thousands. The reeds are quite crushed down by their 

 weight, and beaten to the surface of the water as if there had been a storm. 



Along the rocky shores of the Hebrides, the starlings arc found in great 

 numbers. Early in the morning they are seen coming from their safe retreats 



