582 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



breeds it is a welcome liarbinger of sjn-iiig, doubly appreciated on account of its intel- 

 ligence, wliich iniluce.s it to take iij) its abode in qn.irtei-s provided for it by its human 

 friends, \v lioin it rejiays for their care l»y det^troyiiig millions of obnoxious insects. They 

 readily breed in boxes nailed to the sides of dwelling-houses, and the more boxes there 

 are the better, for the starling is an extremely gregarious bird. In this, as in many 

 other respects, the starling strikingly resembles our blackbird, and it is only a matter of 

 surprise to me that the early settlers of this countiy ilid not transfer the familiar 

 name to the American bird. 



The lovely ])ink color which pervades those parts of the pastor's plumage which arc 

 not glossy greenish black (see the etit) makes it one of tlie finest looking birds of the 

 Old World. Pastor rofseus is an inhabitant of the j>lains and steppes of western 

 Asia, breeding irregularly as far west as Switzerland. During its autumnal wander- 

 ings small flocks are often tletached from tlie large bodies and str.aggle alK>ut, often 

 wide from its original home. It winters regularly in India. To the Kev. Mr. Tristram 

 the reader is indebted for the following gra])hic sketch of his cxjieriencc with the rosy 

 pastor during his travels in the East: — 



" From Kelal Seijar we ])ursued for two days a northeasterly course over the Syr- 

 ian plain, and through the whole journey flock after tlock of Pastors passed us, all 

 pursuing a due west route. At one ])lace we cnme suiMenly, after mounting a gen- 

 tle ascent, on the crater of an extinct volcano, full of water, and surrounded with 

 basalt boulders. As we came up, one of these flights, which liad alighted to drink, 

 rose in alarm and darkened the air overhead. About a dozen fell to a random shot, 

 and every one I picked up was in full l)reeding-))lumage. At another place a soli- 

 tary tree over a well was so covered with them that the color of the tree changed 

 from black to green as wc a]iproached. Once we came on a patch of some acres 

 which had recently been visited by locusts. The old locusts were gone, but the young, 

 not more than a quarter of an inch long, made the ground literally alive. They rose 

 at every step of our horses like sand-lice on the sea.shore from a seaweed left by the 

 tide. Just after we had passed through this i)atch of devastating flight, I turned my 

 head and saw a great globe in the air. It suddenly turned, expanded, and like a vast 

 fan descended to the ground. We waited a few minutes, and saw acres covered with 

 a moving black mass, dappled with jiink. In a short time the mass became restless, 

 and we rode back. The birds rose q\iietly, but not till we were close on them, and 

 only those within dangerous distance. But not a young locust could we see. The 

 Pastor had well earned its name of the ' Locust^bird,' and one batch of foes to man 

 and his laliors had been iiromjitly and forever exterminalc(l." 



Here is a bird well worth introducing into this country. Why did our busybodies 

 not think of this beautiful benefactor, instead of creating the English sparrow nui- 

 sance? 



Africa has a croup of starlings ]ieculiar to the dark continent, belonging to the 

 genera Zamprocolhis, J^nnijn-otornis, Jidda, etc., which with a common name we 

 designate as glossy-mynas. They are generally of blackish color, with shining metallic 

 reflections, green and blue, and several species have long and am])le tails. Many of 

 them are, therefore, superficially <piite similar to our American crow-blackbirds (Qiiis- 

 calus). There is no need, however, of referring to drawings, or museum .sj)ecimens, 

 for they are seen on every other lady's hat. 



Another African genus, quite aberrant on account of its strong and hard beak, 

 may perhaps be entitled to sub-family rank. It is composed of only two species of the 



