FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



CHAPTER 11. 



OLD WORLD STARLINGS {St.urnido'). 



These birds undoubtedly are related to the Ictcridoe. 

 and tc/ the Crows (Corvid(e). The Hili-Mynailis or 

 Grackles, «-hich in many respects resemble the Crows, 

 have been separated as a distinct family, on account 

 of their possession of rictal bristles, by Mr. E. Gates. 

 Profes.=or Ridgway, however, says (" Birds of North 

 and iliddle America," Vol. IV.. p. 280) that his diag- 

 nosis of the Sturnidae " is identical, almost word for 

 word, ivith that given for the ' Eulahetidos,' .... 

 excei)t as to the rictai bristles, which are said to be 

 ' present ' in the Eulohctidce, while in the Stui-nidce 

 there are ' no rictal bri-^tles nor vestige of any ' — cer- 

 tainly a very slight distinction." 



Li addition to this character, however, as 1 have 

 pointed out in my little book, " How to Sex Cage-Birds," 

 pp. 75 and 78, the bills of the sexes in the true Star- 

 lings are more or less slender and much alike, the slight 

 difference which exists being of the sajiie character as 

 in the Thrashes, the male bill being, when noticeably 

 different fi-om that of the female, sUghtly longer and 

 more slender, where.is in the trae Grackles the bills are 

 broad and heavy, that of the female being considerably 

 narrower, weaker, and rather shorter (though not con- 

 ."ipicuously so) than that of the male : I think, therefore, 

 that the family distinction is justified. On the other 

 hand, one might well say of the Stum Idee, as Ridgway 

 does of the Ploceidoe (t.c., p. 283), "Whether the single 

 character of possessing one mf<re obvious primary quill 

 than the FrinffiHUlee and Irteridir. be considered as 

 sufficient to warrant the separation of the present group 

 as a distinct family is perhaps a matter admitting of 

 difference of opinicin." Nevertheless, it is a very con- 

 venient distinction.* 



The Glossy Starlings of the genus Calornis are most 

 neai'ly related to the Irtrridce. inasmuch as they build 

 pensile nests similar in ch.iracter to many of those of 

 the Cassiques and Hangne.sts, and lay spotted eggs like 

 the majority of those birds. 



Glossy Starlings {Suh-family Sturnime). 

 Shining C-\i.obnis {Calornis metallica). 



" The general phmiage is a mixture of dark rich 

 bronzy giieen and purple, the green hue predominating 

 on the lower part of the throat and the upper part of 

 the back : wings and tail bluish black, washed on tde 

 margins ■with" bronzy green ; bill and feet black ; irides 

 vermilion'' (Gould): female smaller and probably with 

 a slightly shorter bill. Young duller, wings brown. 

 naiTowly edged with sordid white ; mider surface white, 

 .streaked on the breast, flanks, and under taU-coverts 

 with blackish. Dr. Finscli, however, doubts whether 

 idl the birdts with white under surface are yoimg, as 

 they breed in this plumage. Hab:, "Northern Aus- 

 tralia, New Guinea, and Papuan Islands from the Solo- 

 mons to the Arn group, as well as the Jloluccas. " 



Gould says (" Handbook to the Birds of Australia," 

 Vol. I., pp. 477, 478), quoting from MacgiUivray : — 

 ■' During the eaiiy part of our last sojourn at Cape 

 Y'ork, this bird was often seen passing rapidly over the 

 .tops of the trees in small flocks of a dozen or more. 

 In their flight they reminded me of the Starlings, and, 



"*'By the way, in his notes on the Ploceidw, Ridgrway incorrectly 

 eays thM " terrestria.1 forms are apparently wanting " : he 

 ' (Mferiooks the Quail Finch (Ortygospiza polyzona), which not 

 -pToiY spends nearly its whole existence on the ground, but neets 

 ihire. 



like them, made a chattering noise while on the wing. 

 One day a native took me to a breeding-place in the- 

 centre of a dense scrub, where I found a gigantic cotton- 

 tree standing alone, irith its branches literally hung, 

 with the pensile nests of the bird : the nests, averaging, 

 two feet in length and one in breadth, are of a some- 

 what oval form, slightly compressed, rounded below 

 and above, tajiering to a neck, by tlie end of which they 

 are suspended ; the opening is situated in the centre 

 of the widest i>axt ; they are almost entirely composed, 

 of portions of the stem and the long tendrils of a climb- 

 ing-plant [Cissus] matted and woven together, and lined 

 with finer pieces of the siune, a few leaves (generally 

 .strips of Pandaiins leaf), the hair-like fibres of a pain' 

 {Can/Ota cereus), and similar materials: the eggs,, 

 usually two, but often three in nimiber, are an inch long 

 by eight-tenths of an inch broad, and of a Uuish. grey, 

 speckled with reddish pink, chiefly at the larger end ; 

 some have scarcely any markings, others a few minute- 

 dots only. Tlie note of the Ijird is short, shai-p, and 

 shrill, and resembles ' twee-twee,' repeated, as if angrily, 

 several times in quick succession." " On the tree above 

 mentioned the nests were about fifty in number, often 

 solitary, but -usually three or four together in a cluster — - 

 .sometimes so closely placed as to touch each other." 

 "The stomachs of those examined contained triturated 

 seeds and other vegetable matter." 



This charming bird was exhibited bv Mr. Townsend' 

 in 1907. 



White-bellied -\methyst Starling {P/iolidawjcs 

 leucoijaiter). 



General colour above, violet ; many of the feathers on. 

 the back with subterminal steel-blue bars ; wings, ex- 

 cepting the coverts and inner secondaries, blackisb- 

 brown ; the outer secondaries edged with violet ; the- 

 two central taU-feathere violet, with others blackish- 

 brown, with violet outer margins ; head, throat, and, 

 chest violet, the lores blackish ; remainder of under sur- 

 face pure white ; thighs dusky at base of leathers ; 

 under wing-covert« and axillaries blackish ; bill and 

 feet black ; irides yellow. Female above brown, with- 

 pale margins to the feathers ; inner webs of flights 

 mostly suffused with pale cimiiuiion ; cheeks white, 

 streaked with brown ; under surface white, slightly 

 sandy on throat ; the hind throat and breast- with de- 

 fined triangular dark brown spots, which become rounder 

 at back of breast and sides of vent and longer on the 

 sides of the abdomen, where there is a brownish wash ; 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries brown -irith reddish- 

 edges; quills below rufescent on inner webs. Hab., 

 "Tropical Africa from 17 deg. N. lat. to Gaboon, on. 

 the west, and to the equator in Central and Eastern 

 .-Africa." (iShelley.) 



Shelley observes (" Birds of Africa," Vol. V., pp. 39, 

 40) : — " In Liberia, Mr. Biittikofer met with it most fre- 

 quently in the open counti-y, the females and young, 

 birds perching together on the bushes, while the fuU- 

 plumaged males kept by themselves at some little dis- 

 tance. During my visit to the Gold Coast I met with, 

 the species on a "few occasions in Februarj', between 

 Accra and Abokobi, always in fairly large flocks of 

 about a score." 



According to Ussher and Hartert, this species feeds 

 upon berries and fruit. The nesting habite appear fo- 

 lic unrecorded, but they probably differ little from those 

 of the southern representative of the species P. ver- 

 reauxi. which is said .to build in holes in trees, lining 

 some natural hollow, or the old nest-hole of a Barbet,. 

 with wool and feathers, over which green leaves are 

 placed and removed from time to time. The eggs 

 usually number four, and are pale blue, sparingly. 



