36 BRITISH BIRDS 
(12) Family : Sturnide—Starlings 
66. Starling [Sturnus vulgaris Linneus]. Resident and 
common. 
Bird. Length 8} in. Individuals vary greatly, some havi 
more green about the head, others more purple, a fact rt i 
has given rise to the unfounded view that our Isles are 
frequented by two forms, a purple-headed 
and a green-headed, and to the | per- 
sistent myth that they are visited by 
the Siberian-starling, which has rarely 
been recorded in Europe. Distinguished 
t by the glossy spangled plumage and 
vl ‘wy reddish-brown legs. The male, in summer, 
Fig. 38. has a bright yellow beak, and the plumage 
mostly a glossy black with metallic re- 
flections of purples and greens and blues. The feathers of the 
upper-parts are tipped with buff, those of the flanks and 
belly spotted whitish. The dusky wing quills have rufous-buff 
margins. Female more spotted and with less metallic gloss. 
After the autumn moult the metallic hues tend to be obseured 
and the bill is blackish. The young are easily distinguished 
from their parents by the uniform greyish-brown of the upper- 
parts, flanks, and forebreast, and the whitish throat and belly. 
Nest. In any convenient hole, or what will do duty for 
such. Material: straw, grass, leaves, &., lined usually with a 
scant lining of feathers, hair, and other material. 
Eggs. Usually 5-7. Glossy blue, some almost white. 
Marked occasionally with traces of reddish spots. Av. size, 
1:19 x °84 in. Laying begins in mid April. One brood, some- 
times two. 
i | 
4f 
Lor A 
(13) Family : Paride—Tits 
67. Longtailed-tit [ Zgithalos caudatus roseus (Blyth); Acredula 
rosea (Blyth)]. Generally distributed and more or less stationary. 
Bird. Length 5$in Distinguished by the long tail and the 
black and rose-colour in the plumage. 
The head is mostly white, streaked 
black. A ring of orange-yellow 
round the eye. Back black mixed 
rose-colour. Under-parts white with 
a few dusky striations on the throat 
and forebreast, the rest mostly tinged 
Fig. 39. rosy. Wing quills and tail black, 
the latter with some conspicuous 
white streaks. The inner secondaries have white margins. 
The rose-colour is wanting in the young. 
