The Starling. 189 



worms and larvaB. It is, in fact, a true friend to 

 the gardener, though we can but admit that the 

 charge brought against it of robbing cherry and 

 other fruit trees has considerable foundation in 

 fact, and that it will also, though this is probably 

 not so heinous an offence in the eyes of the 

 suburban gardener, help itself freely to gi'apes 

 grown out of doors. Wherever sheep are kept, it 

 is fond of perching on their backs, the cause of 

 this habit being, no doubt, that it is enabled to 

 vary its diet- by making a meal of the ticks and 

 other parasites to be found in the wool. 



The starling is one of the most beautiful of 

 British birds, though there are many that are more 

 brilliantly coloured. The cock bird in his summer 

 dress, with his bright yellow bill, and his spotted 

 plumage shot with metallic colours, is, in our 

 opinion, surpassed by very few. Even the smoke 

 and dirt of London cannot destroy his beauty; 

 and, unlike the sparrow, wherever he is found he 

 looks and carries himself like a gentleman. This 

 bird, indeed, deserves to be a much greater 

 favourite than it is. Its beauty, and its merry 

 chattering ways, to say nothing of its usefulness 

 in destroying enormous numbers of insects and 

 their larvse, entitle it to respect and protection 

 wherever it is found, even though it does make the 

 gardener pay toll of his fruit. In addition to its 

 other attractive qualities, it has a certain fearless- 

 ness of man, quite distinct from the aggressive 

 impudence of the sparrow, a fearlessness apparently 



