486 COMMON STARLING. 



made of dry grass or leaves, on which the eggs 

 are placed ; they are of a light blue colour, and 

 are four or five in number : many of these birds 

 are taken during the winter in dovecotes, and 

 by some they are accused of feeding on the eggs 

 of the pigeons, but most probably without founda- 

 tion : their usual food is insects, but in default of 

 these they will eat grain and fruits ; in a state of 

 domestication they will readily eat meat of any 

 kind, and will become extremely docile, imitat- 

 ing the human voice, whistling, &c. ; their na- 

 tural note is a shrill whistle. In the winter 

 these birds fly in large flocks, and associate not 

 only with their own species, but will intrude 

 themselves into the company of Crows, Pigeons, 

 and Thrushes of the gregarious kinds : in the 

 evening they appear in the greatest numbers, as- 

 sembling in marshy places, where they roost among 

 the reeds: their flight is not undulated, but smooth 

 and even, and they walk very easily in the manner 

 of a Wagtail ; but when many congregate they 

 may be known by their peculiar tumultuous and 

 disorderly flight, which is compared to a kind of 

 vortex, in which there is an uniform circular 

 revolution, and at. the same time a progressive 

 advance. 



The species is abundant throughout the old con- 

 tinent from Norway to the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and in this country it has been observed to migrate 

 during very severe winters, retiring westward into 

 Devonshire and Cornwall, and returning eastward 

 as soon as the frost breaks up. 



