CHOUGH. 97 
When feeding in the fields, a flock of Starlings after 
alighting works outwards in an ever-widening circle; 
but if alarmed, even when consorting with Lapwings or 
Rooks, they immediately resume a compact formation 
on taking wing, and keep separate from the other birds. 
The Starling possesses remarkable imitative powers. 
We have often heard it reproduce the notes of the 
Skylark, Song Thrush, and Blackbird in its song, and 
repeat with wonderful accuracy the calls of the Curlew, 
Ringed Plover, and Lapwing. Near a farmyard, the 
bird will pick up the crow of a cock, the cackle of a 
hen, or even such a mechanical noise as the creaking 
of an unoiled pump. 
White birds have been obtained from time to time 
in various localities, and in December 1893 a peculiar 
variety was shot at Ashton-on-Mersey. In this bird 
the general plumage was rich brown, the primaries 
white, and the tail feathers white splashed with brown; 
each feather on the breast and belly was broadly 
margined with pure white, giving the bird a curiously 
spotted appearance ; the head and neck showed traces 
of the metallic sheen so noticeable in a normally 
plumaged bird.? 
FAMILY CORVID/i. 
CHOUGH. 
PYRRHOCORAX GRACULUS (Linnzus). 
The Chough has long since deserted its breeding- 
stations on the north coast of Wales; and though a few 
pairs still linger in Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man, it 
is, owing to its sedentary habits, only a casual wanderer 
1 Oldham, Naturalist, 1894, p. 157. 
G 
