AMERICAN MEADOW- STARLING. 247 



commonly goes by the name of tlie meadow-lark, from 

 the strong resemblance of its habits and flight to the 

 members of the genns Alauda. It has, however, in 

 reality nothing to do with the lark family, being strictly 

 a member of the American Icteridce or hang-nests. 

 This group takes the place of the starlings in the New 

 World, and is closely allied to them in structure ; but 

 besides other differences its members have only nine 

 primaries in the wing, whereas in the starlings 

 (Sturnidoe) of the Old World the tenth outer primary 

 is always present."* A foreign specimen of this very 

 striking looking bird will be found (No. 129*) amongst 

 the " British Birds" in the Norwich museum. 



STURNUS VULGARIS, Linnaeus. 



COMMON STARLING. 



The pert, lively, noisy starling, is one of my special 

 favourites ; everywhere frequenting our homes like the 

 sparrow, yet never absent from our walks, whether, 

 singly, hurrying to its nest in spring, or wheeling 

 in dark masses at the close of the breeding season. I 

 love to listen to its strange whistle, one of the earliest 

 indications of returning spring, when, on the first bright 

 sunny days in February, perched on the parapet or 



* Mr. Sclater also gives the following references to the works 

 of American Ornithologists, in which accurate descriptions are 

 given of the appearance and habits of this well-known trans- 

 atlantic species : — Wilson's " American Ornithology," vol. iii., p. 20, 

 pi. 19, fig. 2 (where the bird is called Alauda magna) ; Jardine's 

 Ed. of Wilson (1832), vol. i., p. 311 ; Audubon's " Ornithological 

 Biography," ii., p. 216, and v. p. 492 (Sturnus ludovicianusj ; 

 Audubon's "Synopsis of the Birds of North America," p. 148; 

 " Birds of America," pi. 186 ; Baird's " Birds of North America," 

 p. 135. 



