ROSY STARLING 



585 



The starling constructs a rough nest of straw and grass, with an 

 imperfect Hning of wool and feathers, either in the hollow arms or 

 trunks of trees, in holes in walls, under roofs, or even in chimneys ; 

 and in this are laid from four to seven of the well-known pale blue 

 eggs, which are about the size of those of a thrush. At least two 

 clutches may be laid in a season. The enormous flocks in which 

 starlings congregate in autumn, and the regular aerial evolutions which 

 they then perform, are too familiar to need further mention. 



A specimen of the Mediterranean black starling {St/iniiis unicolor) 

 was shot in Cheshire in the autumn of 1905. 



_, „^ ,. The rosy starling, or, as it is often called, the rose- 



Rosy Starhng- I . u u A- -11 .u 



,„ . . coloured pastor, whose breedmg-range mcludes south- 



(Pastop roseus). i ' , r- 1 a • 



eastern Europe and south-western and Central Asia, 



alone represents a genus distinguished from Stiiiiiiis b\' the shorter, 



deeper, and more vaulted beak, as well as by the crested head. In 



MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND 



KOSY STAKI-lNt; (iMAI.K). 



the cock, which has the crest very large, the head, neck, and throat 

 are glossy black tinged with violet, and the wings and tail greenish 

 black, the rest of the plumage being rose-pink ; while the beak is 

 rose-coloured, and the eye deep reddish brown. Hens differ by the less 



