STARLING 91 



Fam. STUKNIDiE. 



STARLING. Sturnus vulgaris, Linnaeus. PI. 14, figs. 

 5, 5a. Length, 8 in. ; bill, 1 in. ; wing, 5 in. ; 

 tarsus, 1 in. 



Resident, yet to a certain extent migratory in 

 spring and autumn. The late E. H. Rodd observed 

 in Cornwall that Starlings had been gradually mov- 

 ing farther westward every year during the summer, 

 and were formerly quite unknown in the western 

 counties except as winter visitants (" Birds of Corn- 

 wall," 1880, p. 266). Mr. Harvie-Brown has noted 

 the increase of the Starling in Scotland (Ann. Scot. 

 Nat. Hist., 1895), where the decrease of Larks has 

 been attributed to the destruction of their eggs by 

 Starlings (R. Service, Zool, 1878, pp. 427, 451). 



It is perhaps not generally known that Star- 

 lings devour many kinds of fruit, such as currants, 

 cherries, and rowan-berries. 



They occasionally, though not invariably, rear 

 two broods in a season ; and although usually nest- 

 ing under eaves or selecting holes in trees, they 

 have been known to build occasionally in shrubs 

 and small trees. White varieties are not so rare 

 as many suppose ; some are reported every summer, 

 and cream-coloured, buff, and smoke-coloured varie- 

 ties are also occasionally met with. 



During the late autumn months Starlings con- 

 gregate in large flocks ; as many as sixty or seventy 

 flights, estimated at 50,000 birds, have been ob- 



