40 • 



staple food. Thus in Italy it is of uncertain and irregular occurrence, but 

 is said to liave bred there in some numbers in 1740 (Savi). In 1875, 

 when Verona was infested by Acridium italicum, flocks of these birds, ten 

 or twelve thousand in number, arrived on June 3 — 4 and took possession 

 of the castle of Villafranca, nesting in every hole and cavity (see Zool. 

 1878, p. 16), but on July 14 all migrated southward. In Slavonia, Croatia 

 and Dalmatia it breeds occasionally (Brusina). In Montenegro it has been 

 observed by Fiihrer, and has probably bred in Albania. In Bulgaria and 

 Rumania it is an irregular visitor, sometimes breeding in large numbers, 

 especially in the Dobrudscha, where Elwes and Buckley found a large 

 colony near Milchova (1869) and the brothers Sintenis observed it nesting' 

 at Medzidje, Zurilovka, etc., in 1875, while other visits are recorded in 

 1867, 1871, 1876 and 1889. These breeding places are however rarely 

 occupied for two consecutive years. In Hungary Petenyi recorded it as 

 nesting in several places in 1837, and it is said also to have bred in 

 Switzerland, but the evidence is somewhat untrustworthy. According to 

 Erhardt is has bred in the Cyclades. To south Russia (Bessarabia, 

 Kherson, Crimea and the Caucasus district) it is a common visitor and 

 frequently breeds. Von Nordmann describes its nesting habits as observed 

 near Odessa in 1844. [In Asia Minor the discovery of a large colony in 

 the hills above Bumabat by the Marchese 0. Antinori and von Gonzenbach 

 was described in Naiimannia for 1856, and a translation appeared in the 

 Zool. 1857, p. 5668, while in 1871 Kriiper found colonies in another part 

 of the range.] 

 Nest. Invariably found in colonies, the nests much resemble those of the 



Starling, and are placed in almost any kind of hole, but usually in crevices 

 of rocks, among loose stones, in holes of walls, or less commonly in holes, 

 in banks and in the ground. The nesting materials consist of t^A^gs, straw, 

 hay, dry grasses and plants; with a lining of roots, leaves, moss and feathers, 

 but frequently eggs are laid upon the bare earth with hardly a vestige 

 of a nest. 

 Eggs. The usual number appears to be 5 or 6, but near Odessa von Nord- 



mann found 6 — 7 common, and in some cases met with 8 and 9; and 

 Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria says the number varies from 3 to 8. In 

 appearance they resemble those of the Starlings, but are decidedly paler 

 in colour, many eggs being almost white with a faint bluish tinge. They 

 have also much more gloss than Starlings' eggs. Herr 0. Ottosson has a 

 clutch from Asia Minor ^vith rusty brown spots. 

 Breeding At ViUafranca the first eggs were laid on June 17, about a fortnight 



Season, after the first arrival of the birds, and the young were fledged by July 10, 

 so that they were able to migrate on the 14th. (The time of incubation 

 must therefore be short and the development of the young very rapid.) 



