o)i ilie Common Harignest. 227


Bird presented in 1906.


More slender in figure, bright lemon-yellow and black,

tail with white edging to the outer webs of the outer feathers,

median wing-coverts pure white ; naked orbital patch reduced to

a triangle at back of eye. Song far more frequent, represented

by at least eight phrases with variations, and not preceded by

the "• hookaree, hook-aree" which occasionally precedes that of the

deeper-coloured form.*


It seems probable to me that Mr. Peters' birds, seen at

Curacao, may. have belonged to this form; and, if it could be

proved that the lemon-yellow form were confined to any particu-

lar locality, and its superior song or songs constant, its claim to

subspecific distinction under the name of /. limoneus would be

justified ; but there ^ire yet several points to be borne in mind :


On examining the skins in the British Museum collection,

I found one similarly lemon -coloured male specimen, palpably a

badly maltreated cage-bird, with the tips of its flight-feathers

worn off, and all the outer tail-feathers knocked out : this bird

when perfect probably agreed in all respects with mine. All the

■other examples. were bright orange birds, varying slightly in in-

tensity, the deepest coloured being perhaps old birds : the males

and females in about equal numbers (the short bills indicating

the latter sex at a glance).


Among the deep-coloured birds I found some with the

naked orbital patch as in both types ; also the white edging to

the tail-feathers was sometimes present and even terminal white

spots, proving that these rectrices are variable in Icterus vulgaris ;

so that apart from the lemon-yellow of the body and the purer

white of the median wing-coverts, the differences which I have

indicated above cannot be traced in, the skin.


Of course these American Starlings are equally good

mimics with the Old World birds, from which the longer upper

covert of the tenth primary and their different mode of nesting

distinguish them, but to which all their actions prove close

affinity. It is therefore conceivable that an individual might

learn the song Of some wild bird, living in the vicinity of the


* This initial utterance is characteristic of the Icteridce, occurring iii a modified

form in different genera : thus Agilaus pkoeniceus is said to commence its song with the

prelude — H'wa-ker-ee.



