170 BRITISH BIRDS' EGGS. 



but in England it has not unfrequently occurred. Its plu- 

 mage is described to be brilliant and changing, of greenish- 

 black, purple, and red; upon the head, neck, back, and 

 general upper parts, possessing a metallic lustre, but upon 

 the under parts, which are of a deep reddish-brown, having 

 little play of colour. The present bird is considered com- 

 mon through the greater part of Asia and Africa ; annually 

 visiting the borders of the Danube, Poland, and Hungary, 

 and occasionally other countries still more to the west; 

 southward, it has been known in the vicinity of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, and has even been found so far north as Ice- 

 land. In America there is a species extensively distributed 

 which, if not identical with this, closely resembles it. It is 

 conjectured to have been one of the sacred birds of Egypt, 

 and to have been thus venerated on account of its services 

 in the destruction of snakes. It lives and breeds in socie- 

 ties, and migrates in flocks, frequenting the banks of rivers 

 and lakes and recently-inundated lands, and feeding on rep- 

 tiles, worms, insects, and aquatic plants. The nest appears 

 to be placed sometimes in trees, and at others on or near 

 the ground, and the eggs, two or three in number, are of a 

 beautiful, clear pea-green colour, and without markings. 



