248 STUllNID^. 



presently followed by another of about an hundred, which 

 by their cries attracted the notice of the inhabitants. 

 Later in the evening there arrived many thousands more, 

 which joined the first comers and at dusk all dispersed in 

 numerous troops over the country. Before daybreak the 

 next morning, however, the people were awakened by the cries 

 of some 12,000 or 14,000 Rose-coloured Starlings which met 

 at the castle, and completely took possession of it, ejecting, 

 after a sharp struggle, the other birds which were its ordi- 

 nary occupants, and, since its walls did not even then afford 

 sufficient accommodation, overflowed to the neighbouring 

 housetops. The new arrivals at once set to work clearing 

 out the rubbish from the holes and fissures they had thus 

 gained, and, that done, on the morning of the 5th they 

 began to build their own nests of twigs, straws, hay and 

 other dry plants, leaving a hollow, lined with roots, leaves, 

 moss and feathers, in the middle for the eggs. The next few 

 days were occupied by constant strife for sites, and fierce 

 contests between the males, who shewed however the most 

 ardent attachment to their partners, and it was not till the 

 17th that Sig. de Betta (who made several visits to Villa- 

 franca at this interesting period) was able to ascertain that 

 eggs, five or six in number, were laid ; yet by July 10th 

 the young, having been most assiduously fed with locusts by 

 their parents, were fledged, so that some were able to take 

 flight with their parents on the 12th. On the 14th all the 

 remainder were seen to depart, and Villafranca to the great 

 regret of its inhabitants was absolutely deserted by its 

 unusual visitors. Large numbers of the young were, how- 

 ever, taken alive and a brisk traffic in them sprang up, but 

 it was observed that they did not live long in confinement. 

 The old cocks were also netted in the neighbourhood, while 

 they were gathering food for their sitting mates, to such an 

 extent as visibly to reduce their numbers. Their song is 

 described by Sig. de Betta as being a continuous babble, 

 mixed with harsh and disagreeable notes. The cry of the 

 hens is equally stridulous and peevish. Both are begun 

 early in the morning, continued for a long time, and renewed 



