2l8 STARLING. 



long ago as 1851, HolboU obtained one in Greenland. In Norway 

 it occurs as high as Tromso, but proceeding eastward we find its 

 northerly extension gradually diminishing, until in the Urals and 

 across Siberia it does not exceed 57° N. lat. Throughout Europe 

 our Starling is, with few exceptions, generally distributed ; its breed- 

 ing-range reaching as far as the northern provinces of Italy ; but 

 in the south and throughout the greater part of the Mediterranean 

 basin it is only a cold-weather visitor, although at that season it 

 occurs in almost incredible numbers. In the Spanish Peninsula, 

 Southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia &c., the bird found in summer is the 

 beautiful unspotted S. nnicolor; while from Asia Minor to the Altai 

 range and North-western India it is represented by S. purpurascens^ 

 and some other closely-allied species, including two lately described 

 by Mr. Sharpe. 



The nest is usually built in some hole in a tree, cliff or bank, 

 or, as many persons know to their cost, in chimneys, water-pipes, 

 and under eaves ; but exceptionally it has been found open to the 

 sky in a tree. In places where suitable timber is wanting, holes in 

 peat-stacks and even in the turf itself, heaps of stones for mending 

 roads, rabbit-burrows &:c., are selected. A large untidy mass of dry 

 grass or straw, with a little moss, wool and a few feathers for lining, 

 forms a receptacle for the 4-7 pale blue eggs, which measure about 

 I "2 by '85 in. Where the eggs are successively removed, as many 

 as forty have been obtained from the same nest in the season. The 

 Starling feeds principally upon worms, slugs, small molluscs, flies, 

 beetles, ticks and other insects, but it also eats berries of various 

 kinds, and it has been accused of destroying fruit and the eggs of 

 other birds. Its song, imitative powers, habit of congregating in 

 large flocks at roosting time, and aerial evolutions have often been 

 described elsewhere with a fulness which is here unattainable. 



In summer, the adult male has almost the whole plumage glossy 

 black, with rich metallic purple and green reflections ; the feathers 

 of the upper parts with triangular buff"-coloured spots at the tips; 

 wing- and tail-feathers dark brown, with buflish margins ; bill lemon- 

 yellow ; legs and feet reddish-brown. After the autumn moult the 

 feathers of the upper parts are deeply margined with buff, and 

 those of the under parts are tipped with white. Length 8*5 in. ; 

 wing 5-2 in. The plumage of the female is less brilliant and the 

 terminal spots are larger. The young bird is uniform greyish-brown 

 above, clouded with white below ; in which plumage it is the 

 'Solitary Thrush' of some of the older authors. 



