\ 



8 BLACK BIRDS. 



livered, and for the rich, flute-like quality of its tones. 

 Blackbirds never flock together. 



STARLING — 8^ inches ; grej:,'arious ; a walking Lircl ; liglit 

 edgings to feathers ; without the long tail of the Black- 

 bird. 



RING-OUZEL— 10 inches ; a bird of the hill-country, of a 

 general Vjlack, and closely resembling the Blackbird in 

 all its ways, but with a white crescent on the chest, and 

 with grayish edges to the wing-feathers ; in autumn the 

 body-feathers also have gray edges. 



STARLING.— Plate 4. Length, 8^ inches. Al- 

 though the plumage appears to be entirely black at 

 a moderate distance, a closer view reveals buff tips 

 in the feathers of the upper parts, and after the 

 autumn moult whitish tips in those of the under parts, 

 besides at all times tracts where the black exhibits 

 reflections of purple, green, or violet ; bill yellow ; 

 legs and feet reddish-brown. Resident. 



Eggs. — 4-7, pale blue ; 1-2 x -85 inch (plate 121). 



Nest.— An untidy mass of straw, hay, twigs, and 

 moss, lined with some wool and feathers, and placed 

 in cavities in trees, banks, walls, beneath the eaves 

 of houses, &c. 



Distribution. — General. 



The Starling is the smallest walking bird with 

 black plumage. It has a stout, thick-set appearance, 

 and the legs, being set widely apart, cause it to walk 

 with a shambling gait, in which it resembles the Rook. 

 The Rook, however, redeems himself by his grave 

 deportment ; the Starling, on the contrary, is always 

 in a hurry, and runs about with the awkward gait of 



