200 OMNIVOILE. 



THE STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris). 



The starling is the smallest of all our resident birds allied 

 to the crow tribe, and is one of the least rapacious, confining 

 itself to insects and seeds (chiefly the former), like the chough, 

 and never killing other birds, or probably robbing any nest. 

 It has been accused of breaking the eggs of pigeons when it 

 takes shelter in the pigeon-house from very severe weather ; 

 but as that would be a violation of the laws of hospitality, as 

 well as the customs of the starling, the friends of the bird 

 very properly repel it as a calumny. 



The starling is between eight and nine inches long, about 

 sixteen broad, and it weighs from three to four ounces. The 

 ground colour is black, with rich reflections, varying from 

 golden green to deep purple ; the whole beautifully dropped 

 with [triangular spots like little stars, white on the under 

 part, and passing into cream-colour on the back. The quills 

 and tail-feathers are greyish black, with reddish brown mar- 

 gins. The young of the first year are uniformly coloured of 

 nearly the same brown as the margins of the quills in the 

 mature bird, only lighter, and inclining a little to yellow on 

 the breast ; but after the first moult, they are more speckled 

 than the old birds. The bill is lemon yellow, bluish at the 

 base, and the legs are sometimes brown, and sometimes 

 inclining to yellow : the bill of the male becomes yellow the 

 first spring ; that of the female, after two years. The spots, 

 being on the extremities of the feathers, are sometimes to a 

 considerable extent obliterated : hence old birds, as well as 

 young ones, are sometimes mistaken for different species. 



Like its congeners, the starling is not difficult to tame, 

 or to teach to articulate ; and Sterne chose the captive star- 

 ling in a cage, with its " I can't get out," in order to depict 

 pathetically the bitterness of slavery. The thought was not 

 a bad one ; for at certain seasons of the year, the starlings 



