: THE STARLING 
Starling is almost a perennial songster. His music may 
be heard at intervals through the winter, and as the 
earliest signs of spring appear he becomes still more tune- 
ful, as he sits with drooping wings and bristling plumage 
on the chimneys and trees pumping out his laboured, 
chattering song. The bird is more or less gregarious 
through the year, but after the breeding season the 
scattered broods gather up into enormous flocks, passing 
the day on the grass and resorting at nightfall to certain 
roosting-places which have been used for time out of mind. 
The aerial movements of these flocks previous to settling 
down for the night are very imposing and interesting, 
and the noise becomes deafening until darkness has quite 
fallen. The bird, especially in summer, may often be 
seen coursing about the air almost like a Swallow, in 
quest of insects or for mere enjoyment. The food of the 
Starling consists of grubs, worms, beetles, grain, seeds, 
and many kinds of small fruits and berries. In London 
elderberries are always a great attraction. ‘The call-note 
of this species is a prolonged musical whistle ; the alarm - 
notes are harsh and discordant, almost as much so as those 
of the Missel-Thrush. ‘The nestlings are also very noisy, 
especially each time one of the parents arrives with food. 
The Starling begins breeding early in April, and in some 
cases at least rears two broods in the season. ‘The nest 1s 
usually made under eaves, or in any convenient hole 
amongst masonry or brickwork, as well as in holes of trees. 
It is an untidy structure, made of straws, dry grass, and 
roots, with sometimes a few feathers by way of lining. 
The five to seven eggs are pale greenish blue, and some- 
what glossy. As soon as they can flythe young resort to 
the grass and are soon able to provide for themselves. 
The adult male Starling in breeding plumage is black 
glossed with metallic purple and green; the wings and 
tail are brown, with broad, glossy black margins; the 
under tail-coverts are margined with pale buff, bill 
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