8 



British Birds. 



like the Jackdaw. The et;"gs, often as many 

 ^^^^^^ as seven, are of a delicate pale blue or bluish 



'V ">0, J^Ih white. 



■ ' ^* The t_vpical Starling {>S". vulgnris) has a 



green head as well as green cheeks and throat, 

 but a large number of the specimens procured 

 in Great Britain, particularly on the east coast, 

 have a good deal of purple on the head and 

 thrt)at, while the ear-coverts remain green. This 

 is probably owing to the crossing of S. vulgaris 

 with the Purple-headed Siberian Starling 

 [StiiniHS iiioizbieii). 



The Rosk-Coloured Starling (Pastor 

 roseiis). This is one of the most brightly coloured members of the family, being a 

 remarkably handsome bird. It is only an occasional visitor to Great Britain, its 

 breeding home being in South-eastern Europe, and its winter home in India, where 

 it occurs in vast numbers. It builds its nest in holes of walls or rocks, and is gregarious 

 during the nesting-season as well as in winter. The eggs are whitish or pale grey. 



The Golden Oriole (Oriolus galbula). Butforthe destruction 

 THE ORIOLES. ^^,|^l^].i j.|^^ [jj.||[j^j^(. pjuj^j^gg qj- (_|.|g Q^jylg jnyites, there can be little 



The RrisE-coi.orKEii St.^ri.ing. 



Fiviiily 

 ORIOLin.i:. 



doubt that the species would nest in England, as scarcely any 



spring passes without the bird being observed in our 

 counties, and it breeds not un- 

 commonly on the opposite side 

 of the Channel. The nest 

 IS quite peculiar, being sus- 

 pended between a fork at the 

 end of a branch, generally of 

 an oak-tree. It is a slender 

 structure, made of strips of 

 bark, which are wound round 

 the branch to which the nest 

 is attached. The eggs, four or 

 five in number, are quite 

 unmistakable, being white, 

 spotted with black and choco- 

 late brown. The winter home 

 of the species is in Africa, 

 and at this season of the year 

 it is found as far south as the 

 Cape Colony. 



)uthern 



TnE Golden Oriole. 



