THE STARLING. 



THE STARLING. 



IT is quite unne- 

 cessary for me to 

 describe the appear- 

 ance of the Starling, 

 for the species is so 

 common, sociable, 

 and unlike every 

 other feathered 

 friend in this coun- 

 try that confusion 

 is almost impossible. 

 I love the brave, 

 bustling bird, for 

 when it has any 

 work to do it does not go dawdling 

 along like a lazy boy crawling half- 

 heartedly to school, but rushes about as 

 if the welfare of the whole universe 

 depended upon its individual exertions. 



It is a lively singer, with almost un- 

 rivalled powers of imitation, and has, 

 I must confess, completely deceived me 

 on several occasions. One fine spring 

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