520 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Phtli t; J. T. Niwman 



COMMON STARLING 



Starlings appear to be on the increase in Scotland^ whilst larks 

 are said to be on the decrease, diving to the destruction of their 

 tggs by the former 



known as the Ox-PECKER would seem at first sight 

 to have little to recommend it ; yet it is one of 

 the benefactors of the larger African mammals, 

 clearing them of flies and other insect-pests. 

 Buffaloes, rhinoceroses, elephants, are alike grateful 

 for its services, as it climbs about their huge 

 bodies, picking off the liliputian enemies by which 

 they are beset. But little appears to be known 

 of the breeding-habits of these birds. 



In strong contrast to the dull-looking Ox-birds 

 arethebeautifulGLOSSYSTARLiNGS and CRACKLES. 

 The AFRICAN GLOSSY STARLINGS, indeed, repre- 

 sent the most beautiful of all the members of the 

 Starling Tribe. In one of the handsomest and 

 best-known species the LONG-TAILED GLOSSY 

 STARLING metallic green and purple-violet are 

 the predominating tones in the plumage, glossed 

 with copper reflections, and relieved by black or 

 darker bars of green and purple. In another 

 species the GREEN GLOSSY STARLING of East- 

 ern Africa the shimmer of the plumage is so 

 wonderful that the exact shades of colour are diffi- 

 cult to describe, in that they change completely, 

 according to the light in which the bird is held. 



The GRACKLES, or HILL-MYNAS, are Indian 

 birds, with glossy black plumage, relieved by 

 bare flaps of yellow skin projecting backwards 

 These birds make excellent pets, learning both to 



from the head immediately behind the eye. 

 whistle and talk. 



We come now to the beautiful ORIOLES birds belonging to the temperate and tropical 

 parts of the Old World. The males, as a rule, are clad in a vestment of brilliant yellow and 

 black, but in some species the under-parts are relieved by rich crimson. One species the 

 GOLDEN ORIOLE has on several occasions visited the British Islands, and even in one or two 

 instances has nested there. But, as with all brightly plumaged birds in England, no sooner 

 is their presence discovered than they are doomed to fall to the gun of some local collector. 



The HANG-NESTS, COW-BIRDS, and RlCE-BIRDS are American birds, bearing in many respects 

 a resemblance to the Starlings, chiefly, perhaps, in the form of the beak. Generally black in 

 plumage, in many bright colour is conspicuous. 



HANG-NESTS range from North and Central America to Southern Brazil. As a rule they 

 are brilliantly coloured, the livery being bright orange and yellow, set off by black and white. 

 The majority of the numerous species build remarkable nests, looking like long stockings, which 

 they hang from the under side of the bough of a tree; they are composed of coarse grass deftly 

 woven together. 



The COW-BIRDS are mostly South American, though the United States possess two or three 

 species. Some, like the Cuckoos, are parasitic, dropping their eggs into the nests of other 

 birds, to be hatched by the owners : the young cow-bird, however, dwells in harmony with 

 his foster-brothers and -sisters, instead of ejecting them from the nest, like the young cuckoo. 

 The name Cow-bird is bestowed upon these birds on account of the persistent way in which 

 they haunt herds of cattle for the sake of the flies which congregate about those animals. 



The RlCE-BIRDS are represented by some rather showy forms, and others of wonderful powers 

 of song. The typical RlCE-BIRD, or BOB-O-LINK, is an especial favourite as a songster. Thoreau 

 writes of this song: " It is as if he [the bird] touched his harp with a wave of liquid melody, 



