2 20 ROSE-COLOURED STARLING. 



visitor to Italy, but on that day commenced an irruption of flock 

 after flock, following up large flights of locusts ; and the ruined 

 castle of Villafranca in the province of Verona was soon occupied 

 by some twelve or fourteen thousand Rose-coloured Starlings, which 

 speedily ejected the original feathered inhabitants. The first eggs were 

 laid about June 17th ; by July loth the young were fledged; and by 

 the 14th all had taken their departure. In Bulgaria, the Dobrud- 

 scha, Southern Russia, the vicinity of Smyrna in Asia Minor, and 

 other places, similar large colonies have been found breeding, but 

 not regularly ; and localities inhabited by thousands in one year may 

 be absolutely deserted the next. Eastward, the Rose-coloured 

 Starling extends through Turkestan to Lake Saisan ; numbers winter 

 in India ; vast flocks traverse Palestine in spring ; and on migration 

 the bird has occurred at intervals in North Africa. 



The nest, composed of dry grass with a few feathers, is generally 

 placed in some suitable crevice in ruins, railway-cuttings, quarries 

 and cliffs, or among loose stones on the side of a ravine, while in 

 the latter case it is occasionally open to the sky. The eggs, 5-6 in 

 number, are glossy bluish-white : average measurements I'l by '8;^ 

 in. The female sits very closely, and is fed by the male with locusts, 

 which appear to be the favourite food of old and young ; for this 

 reason the bird is protected in the Caucasus and other districts. In 

 India, however, it is very destructive, to grain during the cold season, 

 and it also devours large quantities of mulberries ; in confine- 

 ment it will eat cockroaches. The note is a harsh and continuous 

 babble, which, when uttered by dense flocks in rapid flight, is 

 described by Canon Tristram as quite deafening. Although so 

 conspicuous by their colour when on the ground or perched upon a 

 tree, yet a small party of birds will suddenly become almost invisible 

 by dropping among oleander bushes, the pink flowers of which 

 exactly match the colour of the breast. 



The adult male has the long crest, head, neck and throat glossy 

 violet-black; wings and tail metallic greenish-black; back, shoulders, 

 breast and belly rose-pink ; bill yellowish-pink, black at the base ; 

 legs yellowish-brown. Length 85 ; wing 5 in. The female is less 

 brightly tinted and has a smaller crest. The young bird in first 

 plumage is greyish-brown above, with buff margins to the wing- and 

 tail-feathers ; the throat is white, while the lower parts are striated 

 buffish-white ; the bill is brown ; but in September the moult into the 

 adult plumage commences. 



