STURNID^ — THE STARLINGS. 229 



Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. 



THE STARLING. 



Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, (ed. 10,) 1758, 167; (ed. 12,) 1766, 290. — Degland 

 & Geube, Orn. Europ. I, 1867, 232. — Reiniiardt, Ibis, 1861, 7 (Greenland). 



Sp. Char. Feathers principally lustrous-black, with purple and green reflections, 

 except at their extremities, which are dull and opaque ; brownish above, silvery-white 

 beneath. Bill yellow in spring, brown in autumn. Legs flesh-color. Length about 

 8.51; wing, 5.11; tail, 2.81; bill above, 1.11, from nostril, .75; gape, 1.15; tarsus, 1.15; 

 middle toe and claw, 1.15. Female similar, but less brilliant. 



Hab. Europe and North Africa, most abundant in Holland. One specimen killed in 

 Greenland, in 1851, and preserved in the Royal Zoological Museum of Copenhagen. 



The preceding description will serve to distinguish the Starling from any 

 North American species, although it is subject to considerable variation. 

 A second form, scarcely distinguishable as a species {S. unicolor, De la 

 Marmora), of a prevailing black color, without terminal spots, and with the 

 feathers of the under part elongated, is found in Sardinia and Sicily. 



Habits. We give a place to the common Starling of Europe in the fauna 

 of North America, as an occasional and rare visitant of Greenland. Only a 

 single instance is on record of its actual capture, — a female taken by Hol- 

 boll in 1851, and now in the Royal Museum of Copenhagen. 



The M^ell-known Starling of Europe is handsome in plumage and of grace- 

 ful shape. It is numerous, as a species, is very generally distributed, and 

 therefore very well known. With many it is a great favorite, and is also 

 familiar as a caged bird. Its sprightly habits, retentive memory, and flexi- 

 hility of voice, commend it as an interesting and entertaining pet. It has 

 been taught to whistle tunes, and even to imitate the human voice, with 

 facility and correctness. In its natural state it is a very social bird, and 

 lives in flocks the greater part of the year. 



Mr. Waterton, who was a great admirer of the Starling, sought to induce 

 these birds to frequent his grounds, and with this view made various cavi- 

 ties in the walls of an old tower near his residence. His wishes were grati- 

 fied, and soon every cavity he had made was taken possession of by a pair, 

 and many more would have been thus domiciled had provision been made 

 for them. 



A similar instance is on record in Hamburg, where, within a few years, 

 a well-known horticulturist induced nearly two hundred pairs of Starlings 

 to occupy and to breed in wooden boxes put up in his grounds for their 

 accommodation. His plants had been destroyed by the attacks of hosts of 

 subterranean lar^'8e, and the Starlings were invited in the hope that they 

 would remove this evil, which they did quite effectually. 



Dr. Beverley Morris gives a very interesting account of a female Starling 

 that he observed building a nest in a hollow tree. Tlie male looked on but 



