THE STARLING. 201 



THE STARLING. 



A VERY interesting bird is the Starling. Its regular 

 movements, bright and glossy plumage, and its pleasing 

 rambling notes, together with its harmlessness of charac- 

 ter, make it a bird of special favour with me. We find 

 it with us at all seasons of the year, and it is in fact quite 

 as homely as the rooks themselves. Its habits, too, if 

 carefully studied, will be found to closely resemble those 

 of its sable congener. 



Early in January Starlings vi^it their nesting-sites, 

 and continue to do so almost daily until the breeding 

 season. Regularly every morning they are seen sitting 

 in pairs near their nesting-holes, preening their feathers 

 and basking in the genial warmth of the morning sun, 

 the male birds whistling their varied and lively notes. 

 By these birds returning to their nesting-sites at various 

 seasons thus, and using them yearly for their purpose, 

 we know that the Starling, like its congener the Rook, 

 is joined to its partner for life. In the vernal year the 

 song of the Starling is heard to perfection. On a tree 

 near his nesting-hole, on the chimney-stack or on the 

 house-top, he is heard to sing. His song is given 

 forth with trembling drooping wings, the throat is 

 distended, the feathers ruffled, which now by the way 

 shine with pristine gloss, and the whole body seemingly 

 full of nervous excitement. Monotonous in parts it 

 perhaps is, but it is a song in which all the com- 



