STURNUS VULGARIS. 435 



vermin cleaners. They eat anything in the shape of worm or 

 insect, fruit, grain, or parasite— only they cannot husk seeds. I 

 have seen them flock from the 8th of June to the end of 

 August. I watched them specially on August 1885. About 

 6 p.m. they came in thousands, flew round the spires of the- 

 old Cathedral, and as many as got foothold clustered on 

 the remaining spire of the west gable. Hundreds tried to 

 alight ; no room. They wheeled and dived down to their 

 roosting- place amongst the dense foliage of the plane trees in 

 the Priory. Those on the spires flew down, tumbling like 

 stones, and joined them. This went on night after night, till 

 the birds were as plentiful as the leaves. The united cluttering 

 at dusk was like a shower of hail pattering on the trees, till 

 the second week in October, when the leaves began to fall off, 

 depriving them of shelter. They then disappeared, but 

 left plenty behind. They do not all migrate like swallows, but 

 merely shift their quarters, as many of our native birds do, in 

 search of food, leaving flocks behind. I think the reason they 

 congregate in such numbers in autumn is, being a social 

 bird, after breeding is over, young and old select a central 

 roosting-spot in the district previous to their scattering over the 

 country, until their masters — March and April — impel them 

 to set up housekeeping in separate holes and create family 

 circles of their own. And thus the eternal chain of life runs on. 

 Where there are no trees — such as the outer Hebrides — they 

 nightly roost in the caves M 7 here they were in company bred, 

 while such birds as hawks, like thieves, like to be by themselves. 

 The starling was once split into two species — the young being 

 called "the brown starling, or solitary thrush" (Turdus 

 solitarius) before it casts its plain brown garb to assume its 

 white-spotted mantle of purple, blue, and green. The general 

 colour is black, with purple, green, or blue reflections, is 

 about the size of a mavis, with a longer bill and shorter 

 tail. It is 9 \ long by 15-| in extent of wings. The bill of 

 the male is pale yellow ; iris, hazel. Its low song is between 

 a chitter and a whistle, is easily tamed, can imitate other 

 birds, and be taught to speak — hence a great cage favourite. 

 A neighbour had one which flew about her house, perched on 

 her head, and asked for " a cup of tea." She got me to listen 

 to her talking starling, but I could not detect anything like its 

 request for her favourite beverage — only a low musical twitter, 

 which, like the elephantine cloud or weasel, of Polonius, 

 might be construed into anything ; but they can be taught to 



