THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING. '35 



large park in Kent ; and, when at length they drew out into a long continuous 

 belt and gradually settled, the trees were black with birds. 



In captivity the Starling rapidly becomes friendly and is always amusing, but 

 he is a ravenous bird with a powerful digestion, and therefore needs constant 

 attention if kept in a cage : an aviary is the place in which to see him to perfec- 

 tion ; there he is always perfect in plumage excepting when moulting, for he is 

 constantly bathing and preening his feathers. 



I reared my first nest of young Starlings in May, 1887, feeding them on a 

 moistened mixture of oat-flotir and pea- meal : they were no trouble to rear, but 

 very noisy, greedy, and quarrelsome. When full grown one of these birds used 

 to spend nearly the whole day in turning back-somersaults from the top perch of 

 his cage to the bottom one, or to the floor, and back again : I used to wonder 

 whether it had a diseased brain, but it seemed quite sensible in other respects : 

 another of these birds distinguished itself by singing incessantly right up to 

 November : its performance consisted of a comical jumble of chuckling sounds, 

 mixed with a few Canary notes and the alarm-chatter of the Blackbird : it also 

 cleverly imitated the guttural note of the Missel-Thrush. Unless they are required 

 for training, it is better to catch than to rear Starlings, selecting brightly coloured 

 males, close- feathered, with long snake-like neck and head, and generally slender 

 body : these are really the best birds, although they rarely win at shows unless 

 kept warm and forced before their time into summer plumage. Most judges of 

 British birds ignore form, being simply attracted by bright colouring. 



Family S TURNIDsE. 



THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING. 



Pastor roseus, LlNN. 



F the geographical distribution of this bird, Seebohm says : " It breeds more 

 or less regularly in Asia Minor and on the western shores of the Black 



o 



