Mr. Graham Renshaw,



170



lets it drop on tlie floor. When hungry, this Starling, on seizing

the grape, flies to the ground with it, and by dint of vigorously

shaking it and beating it against the ground, soon wrenches it

into a shapeless mass, which is then swallowed. He has various

ways of amusing himself. A piece of talc, which had fallen out

of the front of a small stove, was recently a great treasure,

worthy of being carried about in his beak : but his great accom¬

plishment is solo singing. Closely caged, the Glossy Starling

is silent enough ; but turned loose in an aviary these birds will

perch in the highest attainable situation, and make a brave

attempt at a song, the melody (?) being remarkably limited in

quantity, whilst the noise is prodigious, the bird shrieking and

shouting at the top of its voice in a most disagreeable manner.

During special vocal efforts the Dong-tailed Starling half ex¬

pands its wings and allows them to droop in a characteristic

fashion. As regards its treatment of other species, I have kept

my own specimen in a mixed aviary, containing many tiny

birds, without murder being done, but I understand that other

ornithologists have not been so fortunate.


Lamprocolms chalybeus (Green Glossy Starling).


The Short-tailed Glossy Starlings are as beautiful as their

long-tailed brethren, but whereas the latter resemble Mapgies in

their deportment, the former are more like Jackdaws in their

sharp inquisitive scrutiny of various objects, and in their quick

business-like gait. The eyes of the Green Glossy Starling are

rich golden yellow ; the plumage is changeable steely green,

diversified with a dark patch on each ear and a few rounded

spots on the wings. Like its long-tailed congeners this Starling

becomes very tame in confinement : the one I had last year

would call as soon as he heard my footsteps in the morning! and

would come running up to the wires to be fed. He would also

readily take various dainties from the hands of a complete

stranger. The bird shares the usual Starling ambition to become

a singer, and succeeds in producing a discordant but vigorously

rendered series of noises, perhaps, however, more agreeable than

those of the preceding species. The Green Glossy Starling may

be fed on potatoes, damped sponge cake, bread-crumb, figs, and



