93 



^be Hmctb\>5t Starling. 



By E. HOPKINSON, D.S.O., M.B. 



Pholidauges leiicogaster, the White-bellied (or lo- 

 use the Zoo's prettier and less anatomical name), the 

 Amethyst Starling, is certainl}' one of the handsomest 

 of the West African birds I know. It is, however, 

 but very rarely imported into England, — so rarely 

 that a male I took home to the Zoo last year was the 

 first specimen they had ever had there, and, as far as I 

 could ascertain, almost, if not quite, the first to reach 

 England alive. Why this should be the case I do not 

 quite understand, as they are b}^ no means rare in their 

 own country or difficult to keep in captivity, while the 

 beautiful plumage of the male, glossy royal purple 

 contrasting with pure white, would ensure his fetching 

 a good price in the market and taking high honours 

 on the show-bench. I have had two males as cage- 

 birds since I have been in the Gambia, and to judge 

 from my experience with these, this Starling takes 

 readily to cage-life, keeping his beautiful plumage in 

 spotless condition, and thrives well on any ordinary 

 soft-food mixture. He soon becomes tame, has a fair 

 share of the usual Starling intelligence, and although 

 he is no great singer, his notes are pleasing to the 

 ear, being a series of soft fluty whistles, very different 

 from the harsh screams and cries of his relations the 

 Glossy Starlings. 



The plumage of the male is as follows : Whole 

 upper surface including wing-coverts, together with 

 the sides of the face, throat and upper chest, royal 

 .purple with metallic reflections, bluish or reddish 

 according to the light or its angle of incidence ; this 

 ;varying sheen under certain lights, more particularly 



