130 ' STURNIDiE. 
where it is to be found is about Coria del Rio, below Seville ; 
thence, as far as the Goto del Rey, it occurs in tolerable 
numbers, but is much more common towards Cordova, and, 
as I am informed, swarms in some parts of Estremadura. It is, 
however, a very local bird. It appears to me not to have much 
of the habits of the true Magpies, but some of those of the 
Jays ; but my acquaintance with it is very limited. 
The nests which I have seen were built on boughs at no 
great height from the ground, rather clumsily constructed with 
small sticks, grass, moss, and wool — containing five eggs ; 
but as many as seven are frequently found. They are well 
figured in 'The Ibis' (1866, p. 382, pi. x. figs. 3-8), from 
specimens obtained by Lord Lilford in 1864, and vary a great 
deal in colour and markings, the commonest form being of a 
stony buff colour marked with purplish and brown, spots. I 
kept four of these birds, reared from the nest, for some time 
alive, feeding them on grapes, figs, bread, beetles, and grass- 
hoppers. Always placing the insects under their feet, they 
picked them to pieces much as a Hawk or an Owl tears 
its prey. They became very tame and amusing ; but during 
my temporary absence, unluckily, all died, to my great dis- 
appointment, as I meditated bringing them home to England. 
I never heard of this bird on the Moorish side of the Straits. 
The sexes are alike in plumage. 
Family Sturnid^e. 
186. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. The Common Starling. 
Moorish. Zarzor. Spanish. Estomino. 
" This bird arrives about Tangier in large flights from Oc- 
tober to January, departing in March. During the autumnal 
migration the flights are often mixed up with S. unicolor. In 
October, 1842, a Moor brought to Tangier about three hun- 
dred and fifty Starlings, which he affirmed he had caught at 
one time in a net; about half of these birds were S. unicolor." 
— Favier. 
With all due respect for the memory of M. Favier, I cannot 
but suspect that the above-mentioned birds were in reality all 
