BIRDS. 



335 



get 



out;"* and with the angry resolution of 



" I cannot 

 Hotspur, t 



Tlie Starling is a migratory species ; but a difference of 

 opinion prevails among naturalists as to the extent and regu- 

 larity of the migration. The most recent record on the sub- 

 ject is that afforded by Mr. W. Thompson, J relative to the 

 appearance of the Stai'liiig in the neighbourhood of Belfast, 

 lie informs us that this occurs towards the middle or latter 



Fig. 2G7 Starling. 



end of September, and continues for about six or eight weeks ; 

 that the flocks are seen every fine morning coming from the 

 north-east and continuing the same course ; and that each 

 flock consists of from half-a-dozen to two hundred individuals, 

 and ai-rives generally between eight and ten o'clock. " At the 

 season of their earliest appearance there is daylight between 

 four and five o'clock in the morning, and their not being 

 seen before eight o'clock, leads to the belief that they have 



• " The Captive." 



t " I'll have a Starling shall be taught to speak 

 Nothing but Mortimer." 



King Henry IV., Tart I Act i. scene 3. 



{ Annals and Magazine of Natural Historj-. 



