52 STURNID^E. 



warbling consisted at first of but a few harsh sounds, pretty 

 well connected, however ; and this became at length more 

 clear and smooth. Connoisseurs in the songs of birds dis- 

 cover in this song a mixture of many others : one of these 

 connoisseurs, who had not discovered the bird, but heard its 

 voice, thought he was listening to a concert of two Star- 

 lings, two Goldfinches, and perhaps a Siskin ; und when he 

 saw that it was a single bird, he could not conceive how 

 all this music proceeded from the same throat. This bird 

 was still alive in 1802, and the delight of its possessor." 



A dealer in birds, residing in Oxford Street, had three 

 living specimens of the Rose-coloured Pastor for sale, in the 

 summer of 1837 or 1838. This bird flies in flocks like the 

 Starling, and in other habits and peculiarities also resem- 

 bles that species ; it feeds about and among flocks and 

 herds, and frequently mounts on the backs of sheep and 

 cattle to search for the insects, or their grubs, which are 

 known to occupy such situations. Insects appear to form a 

 principal portion of their food ; but they are also partial to 

 fruit, and have been frequently found in gardens. They 

 build in holes of trees, and in cavities of old walls ; the 

 eggs are six in number, but I have not found any recorded 

 notice of their colour. 



In the adult male the beak is of yellowish rose colour, 

 except at the base of the under mandible, where it is almost 

 black ; the irides intense red brown ; the head, neck, 

 wings and tail, black, glossed with violet blue ; the feathers 

 on the head elongated, so as to form a flowing crest ; 

 the back, scapulars, and rump, of a delicate rose colour ; 

 the chin, throat, and front of the neck, black ; breast, sides, 

 and abdomen, like the back, of rose colour ; thighs and 

 under tail-coverts black ; legs and toes yellowish brown ; 

 claws darker brown. 



