274 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS 



he must rank highest. Various sounds are also 

 imitated one would almost think for the mere 

 pleasure of copying them as the bird sits jauntily 

 aloft. The Starlings here imitate to a nicety the 

 cry of the Green Woodpecker, and so closely and 

 cleverly is this done that we defy a person to detect 

 the difference ! Many other sounds are imitated, but 

 this to our mind seems the most astonishing. We 

 never heard the Starling utter this note in districts 

 where the Green Woodpecker is absent, which 

 clearly proves imitation. When the young are 

 hatched the cock Starling has little time to indulge 

 his musical tastes, but when the breeding season is 

 over and the moult undergone he breaks out anew 

 into song ; and it is no uncommon thing to hear odd 

 birds in a large flock whistling merrily, even in 

 midwinter. 



The Starling pairs for life, and returns annually, 

 even in spite of much disturbance, to its old nesting- 

 place. The bird will build its nest in almost any 

 hole it can find, either amongst cliffs, in trees, or in 

 buildings of all kinds. In some places it will even 

 take possession of a hole in the ground or in a stack 

 of peat. The nest is a slovenly one, made of straws, 

 grass, roots and other rubbish, and lined sometimes, 

 but not very generally, with a few feathers. Very 

 often some of the material is left hanging out of the 

 entrance to the hole, betraying the whereabouts of 

 the nest to every passer-by. The eggs are from 



