STUENIN^. 323 



Gen. Stuexopastok, Hod£:son. 

 Syn. Psarites, Cabanis. 



Char. — Bill nearly straight, sllglitly curving, more so than in 

 Stnrnus, deflexcd at the tip, more depressed than in Stui'nus, and 

 stronger; base of the bill phimed to the nostrils, but ascendincr 

 in the middle ; orbits bare ; wings shorter ; tarsus and toes strong. 

 This genus chiefly differs from Stumns by its bare orbits and 

 pied plumage ; and, as its name implies, is a sort of link between 

 the true Starlings and Mj'nas. 



683. Sturnopastor contra, Linnjecs. 



Sturnus, apud Linn.eus — J|!,rdon, Cat. 1G2 — Blyth, Cat. 

 579 — HouSF., Cat. 801— Edwards, Birds, pi. 187 — S. capensis, 

 LiNx\.— P. jalla, i:]oRSF.?—AUafi mniun, H.—Ablaka gosalihy 

 Beng., also Guia-lefjgra, — Venda gorinka, Tel. 



The Pii:d Starling. 



Descr. — Head, neck, and upper part of breast, glossy black; 

 ear-coverts white, extending in a narrow line to the nape; back, 

 wings, and tail, black, slightly glossed; upper tail coverts white 

 as also an oblique bar on the wing, caused by the lesser coverts and 

 outer poruon of the sca[)ulars ; beneath, from the breast, white, 

 tinged with reddi^h-a?h ; under tail-coverts pure white. The young 

 bird is more brown than black, and the colors are less defined. 



Bill red at the base, yellow at tlie tip; legs yellowish ; irides 

 brown ; nude ?kin and orbits orange yellow. Length 9 inches ; 

 wing 4| ; tail 2| ; bill at front 1^ ; tarsus 1^. 



The Ahlaka is found tlirougliout a considerable part of India, 

 but absent in the South and South-west. It is found throuci^liout 

 Bengal up to the foot of the Himalayas, extending as far as 

 Allahabad at all events ; towards the South it is found all along the 

 Northern Circars to near iMasulipatam, thence inland to Hyderabad, 

 but no further South nor West, except perhaps a straggler here and 

 there; thence it is fnund in Nagpore sparingly, more abundantly at 

 Saugor, and through Bundelkund to Allahabad. It is unknown in 

 the West Coast, in the Deecan, and at M how in Central India. Ac- 

 cording to Philipps it is found also in the Upper Provinces of India. 



