720 



STARLING. 



ever, strong at all times ; and, no sooner are their 

 broods able to shift for themselves, than they begin 

 to associate almost indiscriminately with all other 

 birds that may happen to be in the same locality. 



Their'familiarity, their docility, and, above all, the 

 facility with which they can be made to articulate, 

 appear to have attracted the attention of mankind at 

 a very early period ; and the interest has been kept 

 up in all countries where the passion of bird-fancying 

 is a strong one. The Persian monarchs are said to 

 have employed them in the somewhat singular royal 

 sport of hawking for flies, which they catch in a mode 

 somewhat resembling that of the swallow tribes, only 

 not so elegant. In modern times they are not em- 

 ployed in this way, though many of them are kept 

 for the sake of their voices, and of the little tricks 

 which they learn to play. As already mentioned, 

 they must be taken very young if they are to be of 

 much value either for their song or their articulation ; 

 because if they are allowed to remain in the nest 

 even half the time that they are naturally there, they 

 acquire the chatter for which they are so conspicuous 

 in a state of nature, arid cannot get wholly rid of it 

 by any training to which they can be subjected. 

 Being taken so young, the rearing of them is attended 

 with a great deal of trouble. They must be kept 

 upon moss in a little box, and this moss must be 

 changed every day, the most perfect cleanliness being 

 necessary for their health. Delicate animal food is 

 given to them, generally sheep's heart cut into little 

 shreds (so as to resemble the young of the earth- 

 worm, understood to be what their parents first feed 

 them with in the nest) is what is said to suit them best. 

 But after they are a little advanced, they acquire 

 their omnivorous habit, and can eat both animal and 

 vegetable matters, thoftgh they always give preference 

 to the former. Their aptness to imitate the sound of 

 words was not unknown to the ancients, for Pliny 

 alludes to the starlings which were trained for the 

 amusement of the young Caesars, as being capable 

 of articulating both Latin and Greek. They of course 

 have no more knowledge of language than those birds 

 which no art can make to articulate a single syllable ; 

 but there are few birds that can so accurately repeat u 

 long succession of varied sounds. It is mentioned 

 that when M. Gerardin visited his friend, M. Thirel, 

 in Paris, he was agreeably surprised and astonished 

 by hearing a starling articulate a dozen of consecutive 

 sentences, with the same precision as if they had 

 been spoken by some person in the next room ; and 

 when the bell rang for mass, the same bird called to 

 its mistress by name, "JVIadernoiselle, entendez-vous 

 la messe que Ton soune ? Prenez votre livre, et re venez 

 vite donner a manger a votre polisson :" Miss, don't 

 you hear the bell ring to mass ? Take your book, and 

 return quickly to feed your little wag. The same 

 bird whistled various airs in a clear and agreeable 

 manner, and with the most perfect musical accuracy. 

 In Britain the starling is but little regarded, except 

 as an object of curiosity ; and in that respect its 

 interest is not great, as the time of the people is, 

 generally speaking, too much occupied for their de- 

 voting much of it to the educating of birds. On the 

 continent it is somewhat different, and in the fenny 

 places there the birds are also sought after as articles 

 of food. They are particularly abundant in Holland ; 

 and, as they fly crowded, and wheel and return again 

 and again to the same spot, numbers of them may be 

 shot with very little labour on the part of the fowler. 



The starling is found in all parts of Europe, and also 

 occasionally in Northern Africa. There appear to 

 be some varieties if not different, species, for there is 

 one mentioned as being found in Sardinia, which is 

 of a black colour without any spots ; and even the 

 common ones which are found in the same flock 

 are remarkable for the different tints of their general 

 plumage. 



In the north and east of Asia there are some which 

 are probably entitled to rank as different species. 

 Among these may be mentioned the Daourian star- 

 ling (.S'. Daourica), which is considerably smaller 

 than the starling of Europe, being only six inches in 

 length. The upper part of the male is black with 

 purple reflections, and whitish margins to the quills ; 

 and the under part whitish-ash colour ; there is a 

 white stripe on each side of the head ; arid the bill 

 and feet are lead colour. Another species, the green 

 starling (S.viridis), is common in China. It is green 

 on the upper part, without any spots ; has the quills 

 with white shafts and margins ; a small crest of black 

 feathers on the top of the head ; and the bill and feet 

 reddish. Another species of the eastern continent 

 has been called the Cape starling (S. Capensis], though 

 it appears to be a native of India, rather than of 

 Southern Africa. Its general colour is blackish on 

 the upper part, and white on the under, with the 

 neck and throat deep black, though with reflections 

 of purple ; there is a small spot of reddish-white upon 

 each cheek, and a band of the same colour on the 

 back of the neck, and a small red spot between the 

 eye and the nostril ; the bill is yellow at the base and 

 black toward the tip ; and the feet are yellow with 

 black claws. 



An Australian bird (Creadion pharoides), is some- 

 times classed with the starlings as the carunculated 

 starling (S. carunculatus'), from two orange-coloured 

 wattles, each almost a quarter of an inch long, which 

 are pendent, one from each angle of the gape. The 

 upper part of it is rusty black, and the rest of the 

 plumage pure black ; the bill is blue at the base, and 

 black at the tip, which last is also the colour of the 

 feet ; it is about an inch longer than the common 

 starling of Europe. There are various other varieties 

 named as occurring in different parts of the eastern 

 continent ; but they are in all probability only cli- 

 rnatal; and it has been remarked, that the warmer 

 the climate in which they are found, the deeper are 

 the colours, and the richer the reflected tints of the 

 plumage. 



The Louisiana Starling (S. collaris], was described 

 by Gmelin as the great lark. It is a bird about nine 

 or ten inches in length. It is not confined to the part 

 of America from which it is named ; for it also oc- 

 curs in the United States and in Canada, but moves 

 southward in the winter, and collects in vast numbers 

 on the humid plains on the banks of the Lower Mis- 

 sissippi. It is indeed more exclusively a marsh or 

 meadow bird than the starling of Europe, and con- 

 fines itself to the open grounds near the rivers, never 

 perching on trees, as is the case with the starling of 

 Europe. They are much more numerous in the 

 central states of America in autumn than they are 

 at any other season of the year, as they then collect 

 from the north and flock ; whereas, in the breeding 

 time, they live much more dispersedly. They are 

 swift of foot, and nimble and ready on the wing. 

 When observed they take flight, but speedily squat 

 down in the cover of the bushes and tufts. They do 



