350 



PERCHING BIRDS. 



and the beak and feet are black. Feeding largely upon insects, these birds are 



more terrestrial in their habits than many others of the group. 



Green Glossy The green glossy starling (Lamprocolius chalybeus), which is 



starling. shown in the lower figure of our Plate, is an inhabitant of North- 



Eastern Africa, and is selected as a good example of the second genus of the group. 



With the exception of a spot in the region of the ear and the under wing-coverts, 



the whole plumage is of a steely bluish green, the secondaries and the feathers of 



the upper wing-coverts being marked at the end with a round blackish spot. Such 



THE SUPERB GLOSSY STARLING. 



is the wonderful shimmer of the plumage, which is similar in both sexes, that it 

 shows totally different tints according to the light, and indeed can scarcely be 

 described in words. In the young only the upper-parts are metallic green, the 

 under-parts being dark brownish grey, devoid of lustre. 



Although typically an inhabitant of Abyssinia, this beautiful bird ranges into 

 Senegambia. It frequents alike the thickly-wooded river-valleys and the high 

 mountains, ascending in Abyssinia to an elevation of some ten thousand feet ; 

 and while generally going about in pairs, in the breeding-season congregates in 

 small flocks. Both in flight and general habits it resembles the European starling. 

 White-Bellied The pretty little bird (L. leucogaster), depicted in the middle figure 



Glossy starling. o f the Plate, is our last representative of the group, and differs 



