THE STARLING. 235 



purple and green, and every feather is tipped with white, or 

 cream-colour — a mantle of shot-silk garnished with pearls. 



Except during the nesting season, a Starling is rarely- 

 seen alone ; most commonly perhaps they are observed in 

 parties of from six to twelve, hunting in orchards or 

 meadows for whichsoever article of their diet happens 

 to be in season. Wherever a colony of Eooks, Jackdaws, 

 or Eock Pigeons has established itself, there most probably, 

 or somewhere in the neighbourhood, a large party will 

 assemble to roost, and will attend the others on all 

 their foraging expeditions. In spring the flocks, small 

 and great, break up into pairs, each withdrawing to a 

 convenient nesting place, which is sometimes a hole in a 

 tree, sometimes a building, a clif^ or a cave. The nest itself 

 is a simple structure, being composed of dry grass and 

 roots, and contains generally five eggs. At this season the 

 male bird adds to the chirping and twittering notes of 

 both sexes, a soft and not unmusical note, which resembles 

 more closely than any other sound with which I am ac- 

 quainted the piping of a boatswain's whistle, and it is not 

 uncommon to hear a party of choristers thus engaged, 

 perched meanwhile on some high tree, even while incuba- 

 tion is going on. The breeding season over, they become 

 nomad in their habits. Many families unite into a flock, 

 and explore the country far and wide for suitable feeding 

 places, their diet being, up to this time, exclusively worms 

 and insects. But no sooner does the fruit begin to ripen 

 in the cherry districts, than the flocks, now assembled iu 

 countless multitudes, descend on the trees, and, if not 

 observed and scared away, appropriate the whole crop. 



^ewly-fledged Starlings are so diiferent from their 

 parents, that they might be mistaken, and indeed have been 

 described by Montagu, Bewick, Knapp, and others, under 

 the name of the Solitary Thrush. The plumage is of a 

 uniform greyish brown, lighter beneath. It is not till the 

 end of July or the beginning of August that the adult 



