216 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
taught to speak; but in this accomplishment it falls 
very far short of the Raven and the Jackdaw. 
The Starling is a beautiful bird when seen close, 
in consequence of the glossy metallic tints with 
which its whole plumage is shot, though at a little 
distance it appears to be a dark, common-place look- 
ing bird enough. The beak is light yellow, the tip 
only being dark horn-colour, nearly black; irides 
brown: the whole of the feathers, except the quills, 
tail and wing-coverts, are peculiarly shaped, being 
very narrow and pointed; the head and neck are 
beautifully shot with glossy dark green and purple, 
with a small spot of light brown at the tip of each 
feather ; the colouring of all the upper parts is the 
same, but the feathers are larger and consequently 
the light brown tips are more conspicuous; the 
greater wing-coverts have on the outer web the same 
metallic tints; the inner webs are dusky; the whole 
of the outer web and tip are margined with light 
brown ; quills and tail dusky, each feather narrowly 
margined with light brown; the secondary and 
tertial quills are more broadly margined, and the 
outer webs slightly shot with green; the neck, 
breast and belly have the same glossy metallic tints 
of purple and green, and each feather is tipped with 
white; the feathers are of the same narrow-pointed 
shape; very old birds have fewer of the white tips. 
I have one in my collection which has no white tips 
to the feathers of the neck and breast; the under 
