216 THE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS. 



of the " Naturalist," J. Me Intosh, Esq., describing a famous chestnut 

 tree in the grounds of Canford House, Dorsetshire, mentions that at 

 its base was a colony of rabbits, in the trunk a nest of cats, and 

 above both a nest of Starlings. The nest is large, and composed of 

 straws, roots, dry grass, and stems of plants, with a rude lining of 

 feathers and hair. The eggs are four or five in number, of a uniform 

 pale blue colour; they are hatched in about sixteen days. Both parents 

 feed the young, and exhibit a particularly strong attachment to them. 

 A pleasing anecdote in illustration of this is given in Mr. Morris's 

 "Anecdotes of Natural History/' extracted from the "Gloucestershire 

 Chronicle:" "A gentleman who had discovered a Starling's nest, in 

 which were several young birds, being desirous to domesticate them, 

 had the nest removed from its situation, near Marie Hill, at a late 

 hour in the evening, when the young birds were brought down to his 

 residence in the heart of the town, and placed in a cage which was 

 suspended in his garden. About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 

 following day, the female Starling was observed at the bars of the 

 cage, actively employed in feeding its young, which, by an instinct 

 hardly inferior to reason, it had thus succeeded in discovering." 

 Another display of parental affection occurred some years ago during 

 a fire at Dover. A Starling was observed in her nest on a tree 

 not far from the burning building. As the flames approached she 

 manifested her anxiety by flitting uneasily backwards and forwards. 

 At last, when the danger became imminent, she was seen to take one 

 of her young ones and remove it to a safe distance. This she repeated 

 five times, and succeeded in saving all her brood. 



The food of these birds consists of worms, caterpillars, grasshoppers, 

 and all kinds of insects, in search of which they may be seen in 

 company with Rooks, Jackdaws, and Thrushes. With other species 

 they rarely quarrel, unless they should both happen to come upon the 

 same dainty morsel together, and even then the feud rarely becomes 

 serious. They often perch on the backs of sheep, to feed on the 

 ticks and other insects that so frequently infest their woolly covering. 

 On horses and cows, too, they sometimes alight for a similar purpose. 

 Towards winter, as insects become scarce, the Starlings frequent the 

 corn-yards and stubble-fields in search of grain. During very severe 

 weather they may be seen upon the sea-shore, turning over the stones 

 to obtain marine worms and small mollusca. 



The Starling has a soft and rather pleasing note, which it frequently 

 utters in bright and sunny weather, even in winter. When a number 

 of these birds are singing, if it may be so called, together, the 

 result is melodious and decidedly agreeable. Their common call-note 



