UNIVERSITY 



OF 



^ STURNUS 399 



STURNUS, Linn., 1766. 



567. STARLING. 

 STURNUS VULGARIS. 



Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 290 (1766); Naum. ii. p. 187, 

 Taf. 62 ; Hewitson, i. p. 216, pi. Iv. fig. 1 ; Gould, B. of E. iii. 

 p. 210; id. B. of Gt. Brit. iii. pis. 53, 54; Newton, ii. p. 228; 

 Dresser, iv. p. 405, pis. 246, 247 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xiii. 

 p. 27 ; Saunders, p. 227 ; Lilford, ii. p. 63, pis. 28, 29 ; S. fceroensis, 

 Feilden, B. of Faroe Isl. p. 47 (1872) ; S. nitens, Brehm, Isis, 

 1828, p. 1282 ; S. indicus, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 84 (1844) ; 

 S. minor, Hume, Stray F. 1873, p. 207 ; S. humei, Brooks, Ibis, 

 1876, p. 500 : S. menzbieri, Sharpe, Ibis, 1888, p. 438, pi. 1. . 



Etourneau vulgaire, French ; Estornino, Span. ; Storno, Ital. ; 

 Gemeiner Staar, German ; Spreeuw, Dutch ; Steer, Dan. and 

 Norw. ; Stare, Swed. ; Musta-Kottarainen, Finn. ; Skvoretz, Russ. ; 

 Sarsour, Arab. ; Telia-maina, Hindu. ; Tilgiri, Kashm. 



$ ad. (England). Glossy black, with purple, green and steel-blue 

 reflections, and slightly spotted with buffy white or pale brownish buff ; 

 the head and neck glossed, with purple or greenish purple, the wing-coverts 

 with steel-green or steel-blue, the under parts with steel-purple 'or steel- 

 green ; beak yellowish ; legs light reddish brown ; iris hazel. Cul- 

 men I'l, wing 5'0, tail 2*75, tarsus 1'2 inch. In winter it is duller in 

 colour, and profusely spotted with buffy white. The female is duller than 

 the male, and has the beak blackish brown. The young bird is sooty brown, 

 the under parts marked with white, and the quills margined with dull 

 rufous. Specimens from the Faroes frequently have a larger and broader 

 bill, and those from India are as a rule smaller, and have fewer spots. 



Hob. Europe, from the Faroes and Northern Norway to the 

 Mediterranean ; Maderia, the Canary Isles, and Azores ; North 

 Africa ; Asia from Siberia down to India ; has once occurred in 

 Greenland. 



Throughout its range the Starling is partly resident and 

 partly migratory, breeding as a rule in the northern and central 

 portions, and wintering in the south of Europe and in North 

 Africa ; in Asia it breeds as far south as Sind. In its habits it 

 is essentially gregarious even during the breeding season, and 

 in winter collects in large flocks. It frequents arable and 

 pasture land and feeds on worms and insects of various kinds, 

 and occasionally in severe winter on grain and berries, and in 

 the autumn it also feeds to some extent on fruit, especially 

 mulberries. Its note is a somewhat harsh chatter, and a 

 melodious whistle, the latter constituting its song in which it 



