STARLINGS. 



529 



volume : " The chough is another of those birds that are becoming rarer in our islands 

 from no apparent cause. The encroachment of man, as Mr. Gray justly remarks, can 

 scarcely be a reason for its disappearance ; for the bird's haunts are practically inac- 

 cessible, and are usually places far removed from his industries. Formerly the chough 

 bred in many inland localities in England, but now it is only known to frequent a few 

 favored spots on the coast. Years ago the bird bred on almost all the suitable cliffs 

 of the south coast ; but at the present day most of its breeding stations are deserted. 



FIG. 262. Heteralocha acutirostris, hula-bird. 



In Scotland it appears to have been much commoner quite recently than at the present 

 time, and to have now completely deserted its inland haunts, being only found on the 

 ocean cliffs. In Ireland its numbers have also decreased." 



^ Leaving the question open for the present whether the Old World starlings 

 (STUKmD.E) are best placed here, or whether they had better be removed nearer to 

 the American Icteridae, from which they chiefly differ in having ten primaries, we at 

 once proceed to review the most interesting forms of this family, which is entirely 

 confined to the eastern hemisphere, but which in its distribution offers the peculiarity 

 VOL. iv. 34 



