THE BLUE JAY. 413 



Tlie Crow Blackbirds are also very generally distributeil.tlirougliout the 

 American continent and the adjacent islands. JMany of these birds are pos- 

 sessed of liandsonie [)luniage, but often tliey are neither attractive in dress, 

 voice, nor habits. 



The Sturnimc, or Stares, are confined to the Old World. The Starling, 

 Stnrnns viili/uris, is a well-known member of this group. 



This bird is very generally spread over Eurojte, and is also found in China, 

 the Himalaya, the Cajic of Good Hope, and Xortheni Africa. It is com- 

 mon in the British Islands, and is often kept as a cage bird, becoming very 

 funiliar, and learning to utter tunes, words, and even sentences. Its nat- 

 ural song is a low, sweet warble. 



During the breeding season the Starlings live in jiairs, constructing their 

 nests in the crevices of towers, steeples, old ruins, the clefts of rocks, and 

 even the deserted nests of the crow and other large birds. 



When the breeding season is [)assed, these birds congregate in immense 

 flocks, which, often intermingled with rooks and other birds, scatter over 

 the fields in search of food. 



On the ai)[)roach of dusk, the scattered multitudes collect into one vast 

 flock, wheeling and sweeping through the air, and performing the most beau- 

 tiful aerial evolutions, as if obeying definite signals of command, while the 

 assemblage bears on to some place of repose. This is generally a thick cop- 

 pice, or extensive tract of reeds, and over it the mass wheels in varviu"' 

 figures, now sinking, now rising, now suddenly turning, till at length the 

 horde settles for the night, long keeping up a noisy, clattering concert. 



The Starling is migratory in fall and spring, moving southwards at the 

 approach of winter, and returning with the mild weather of spring. 



The Orioliinc, or Old \\'orld Orioles, number some thirty species. ''They 

 are found solitary or in pairs, and occasionally in small flocks, frequenting 

 the skirts of forests, gardens, and orchards, feeding on the various kinds of 

 fruits and insects. Their flight is undulating when flying from one lofty 

 tree to another to search the foliage for the cater[iillars which may be feed- 

 ing on them. They emit a loud, mellow, plaintive cry. The nest is rather 

 flat and saucer-shaped, and generally placed in a fork of the boughs of a 

 tree, to both iiranchcs of wliich it is firndv attached. It is usually made 

 of sheep's and other wools, and long, slender steins of grass. The nests of 

 some species are elongated, purse-shaped, and pendulous, hanging from high 

 branches of trees. The eggs are four or five in number. 



The G(irni/h/iv, Javs, &c., are numerous and widely distributed : some 

 species arc restricted to limited areas, while others extend o^er a wide range 

 of territor}'. Of the Jays proper, our American Blue Jay is a good ex- 

 ample. 



