*264 COMMON STARLING. 



greater portion of the lower parts, become of a 

 uniform dark tint, having the reflections still more 

 brilliantly kept up ; on the back, wings, and tail 

 coverts, the pale tips and edges still remain. 

 The shoulders and wing coverts are black, with a 

 predominance of purple reflections ; the secon- 

 daries are grayish black, margined with deep 

 shining greenish black, and exterior again to that 

 with reddish white, which, however, is lost during 

 the breeding state. The quills are grayish black, 

 with dark outer webs, and a pale reddish white 

 margin. The tail short, but full and broad, is of 

 the same colour, and has the shafts and a dark 

 margin distinctly marked, and is completed by 

 the same coloured pale edge. The bill is gam- 

 boge yellow, darker towards the base. The feet 

 and legs reddish brown. In the female the 

 colours are nearly similar, but during the breed- 

 ing season, the pale tips of the feathers are not so 

 completely lost. Length of a specimen now be- 

 fore us is about nine inches. 



The young are nearly of a uniform hair brown, 

 paler beneath, and having the secondaries and 

 greater coverts edged with rufous or yellowish 

 white. Sometimes the upper parts are glossed with 

 green reflections. Cream-coloured varieties occur. 



The other British genus belonging to this 

 family is Pastor of Temminck, considered by 

 Swainson as the Dentirostral type. They are 

 confined chiefly to the warmer districts of Africa 

 and Asia. It is thus characterized : 



