392 , THE STARLING. 



" The interest of this curious bower is much enhanced by the manner 

 in which it is decorated, at and near the entrance, with the most gayly- 

 colored articles that can be collected, such as the blue tail-feathers of 

 the Rose Hill and Lory Parrots, bleached bones, the shells of snails, 

 etc. Some of the feathers are stuck in among the twigs, while others, 

 with the bones and shells, are strewed about near the entrance. The 

 propensity of these birds to fly ofl" with any attractive object is so well 

 known that the blacks always search the runs for any missing article." 



So persevering are these birds in carrying off anything that may 

 strike their fancy that they have been known to steal a stone tomahawk, 

 some blue cotton rags, and an old tobacco-pipe. Two of these bowers 

 are now in the nest-room of the British Museum, and at the Zoological 

 Gardens the Bower Bird may be seen hard at work at its surface, 

 fastening the twigs or adorning the entrances, and ever and anon 

 running through the edifice with a curious loud full cry that always 

 attracts the attention of a passer-by. The Satin Bower Bird bears 

 confinement well, and, although it will not breed in captivity, it is very 

 industrious in building bowers for recreation. 



The food of this bird seems to consist chiefly of fruits and berries, 

 as the stomachs of several specimens were found to contain nothing 

 hut vegetable remains. Those which are caged in Australia are fed 

 upon rice, fruit, moistened bread, and a very little meat at intervals — 

 a diet on which they thrive well. The plumage of the adult male is 

 a very glossy satin-like purple, so deep as to appear black in a faint 

 light, but the young males and the females are almost entirely of an 

 olive-green. 



We now come to the true Starlings. In these birds the bill is 

 almost straight, tapering, and elongated, slightly flattened at the top, 

 and with a hardly perceptible notch. 



The common Starling is one of the handsomest of our British birds, 

 the bright mottlings of its plumage, the, vivacity of its movements, and 

 the elegance of its form rendering it a truly beautiful bird. 



It is very common in all parts of the British Isles, as well as in many 

 other countries, and assembles in vast flocks of many thousands in num- 

 ber, enormous accessions being made to their ranks after the breeding 

 season. These vast assemblies are seen to best advantage in the fenny 

 districts, where they couch for the night amid the osiers and aquatic 

 plants, and often crush whole acres to the ground by their united 

 weight. In their flight the Starlings are most wonderful birds, each 

 flock, no matter how large its dimensions, seeming to be under the 

 command of one single bird, and to obey his orders with an instanta- 

 neous action which appears little short of a miracle. A whole cloud 

 of Starlings may often be seen flying along at a considerable elevation 

 from the ground, darkening the sky as they pass overhead, when of a 



