STARLINGS. 149 



"for nearly an hour, watching a pair of Starlings. 

 They had chosen a hole in a tree close to me for 

 their nest, in the construction of which the female 

 alone was engaged : the male sate near, looking 

 on, but never fetching any materials ; he seemed 

 to be a sort of guard or sentinel, as he repeatedly 

 drove off some sparrows that were too inquisitive 

 as to the progress the nest was making. The 

 female, in her arduous task, made on an average, 

 by my watch, three trips per minute, with small 

 twigs and bits of dry grass, which she picked up 

 near the tree. Sometimes she took three or four 

 small ones at one time, so that at this rate, sup- 

 posing her to work for only six hours, she would 

 have brought together upwards of a thousand 

 sticks, &c., which would be more than sufficient 

 to form her nest." 



Mr. Jesse, noticing the difference of character 

 among birds, describes that of the Starling in the 

 following terms : " There is a great variety of 

 character amongst birds ; some appear moping and 

 melancholy, and others full of joy and hilarity. 

 One variety of bird (the Titmouse) is always 

 restless and on the move, while another, the 

 Heron, for instance, is grave and thoughtful in its 

 habits, and slow and methodical in its movements. 

 The bird, however, which amuses me most, is the 

 Starling. There is an oddity in all he does ; he 

 appears curious and observant ; in short, a sort of 

 Paul Pry amongst his species. He has a great 

 deal of sociability and amusing fun in his dispo- 

 sition, accompanied by great restlessness, and yet 

 apparent good fellowship and good humour. The 

 Jackdaw comes next to him in these respects ; 

 but I know of no bird whose character is more 





