The Crow Tribe. 45 



This bird, also known as the Rose Ouzel, is about 

 eight inches long ; has a crested head ; neck, wings, 

 and tail of glossy black, tinged with blue, violet, and 

 green ; the back, lower part of the body, and lesser 

 wing-coverts are of a rose-pink colour, varying in its 

 shades in different birds : the females are quite pale. 

 The legs are of a pale red, with the claws brown and 

 crooked. The males do not acquire their full plumage 

 till their third year. 



The Rose-coloured Pastor occasionally, but rarely, 

 visits England. It is found in Syria, Egypt, and Africa, 

 and, in summer, in the warmer countries north of the 

 Mediterranean. It is a common bird in India, and is 

 sometimes seen in flocks of thousands in the wheat- 

 fields ; but though destructive here, its arrival is hailed 

 with joy at Aleppo and other places where great 

 havoc is committed by the locusts, because it devours 

 them greedily. 



The bird derives its name of Pastor, or Shepherd, 

 from its habit of feeding among sheep and cattle ; it is 

 often seen mounted upon their backs, hunting out their 

 parasitical insects or grubs. Like the Starling, it flies 

 in flocks, and in many of its habits it resembles that 

 bird. It has a flexible voice, and, though its ordinary 

 cry is harsh, it appears to have great imitative powers, 

 A wounded bird, which was placed in a spacious cage 

 and fed upon barley-meal moistened with milk, and 

 insects, grew very tame and sociable, and would take 



