206 BIRDS. OMNIVOILE. 



O. melanoccphalus, Lin. Plumage purplish blue, head and neck 

 black ; beneath white ; quill-feathers fuscous ; tail cuneiform, tip 

 white. Inhabits China. Size of the jay Lath. Ind. 172. 



0. paradisea, Tern. (Paradisea aurea, Lath.) Plumage brown- 

 ish yellow, with the breast, wings, and tail-feathers black. Eight 

 inches long. Inhabits India. Edwards, t. 112. 



Gen. 16. ICTERUS, Tern. Graculus Oriolus, Lin. 



Bill longer than the head, or as long, straight, like an elongated 

 cone, pointed, sharp, a little compressed, without distinct s ridge 

 or notch, the base covered by feathers; margins of the mandi- 

 bles more or less bent inwards ; nostrils basal, lateral, and 

 covered by a horny rudiment ; tarsus as long as or longer than 

 the middle toe ; wings long, third and fourth feathers longest. 



1. cristatus, Tern. (Oriolus cri&tatus, Lath. Cassicus, Daud.) Crest 

 black ; the lower part of the back, rump, and vent chestnut ; la- 

 teral tail-eathers yellow. Eighteen inches long. Inhabits S. 

 America. Buff. Ois. PI. Enl. 344. 



I. quisculus, Tern. (Gracula quiscula, Lin.) Plumage glossy pur- 

 ple, black; tail long, round ; bill and legs black; iris silver-coloured. 

 Nearly a foot long. Inhabits Mexico, &c. Catesb. Car. i. pi. 12. 



I. baritus, Tern. (Gracula barita, Lin.) Plumage blackish, with 

 a gloss of purple and green on the upper parts ; bill blackish, base 

 naked ; tail rounded, concave above. Thirteen inches long. In- 

 habits N. America. Sloane, Jam. t. 257. % 2. 



I. Americanus, Tern. (Oriolus , Lath.) Plumage black, with deep- 

 red chin, throat, and breast ; border of the wings red. Smaller 

 than a blackbird. Inhabits Guiana Shaw, vii. 428. 



Gen. 17. STURNUS, Lin. 



Bill straight, in the form of an elongated cone, depressed, 

 slightly obtuse ; base of the upper mandible projecting on 

 the forehead, the point much depressed, and without a notch ; 

 nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched membrane ; 

 wings long, the first quill very short, the second and third 

 longest; three toes before, and one behind, the exterior 

 joined at its base to the middle one. 



Starlings feed principally on insects, nestle in the holes of trees, under the tiles of 

 roofs, and in the holes of walls. Like many of the omnivorous order, they consort 

 and travel in large flocks. The males and females differ little in general aspect ; 

 but the young of the first year are very dissimilar to the mature birds. They are 

 found in every quarter of the globe. 



S. vulgaris, Lin. Common Starling or Stare. Body shining brassy 

 black, spotted with little triangular spots of reddish white ; lower 

 coverts of the tail bordered with white ; bill yellow ; legs brown 

 flesh-colour; eight inches long. Inhabits Europe. 

 Stares occur abundantly in the old continent, from Norway to very southern lati- 



