26 BRITISH BIRDS. 



possible that occasional examples may have gone astray on migration and 

 wandered as far as Europe. In winter they are gregarious, but in spring 

 they pair and separate for breeding- purposes. The nest is usually placed 

 on low bushes, but occasionally in high trees and sometimes on the ground. 

 It is pensile, the framework, usually made of rushes and the strong leaves 

 of the iris, being carefully and strongly interwoven with the adjacent 

 twigs. The inner nest is composed of grass and sedges. The number of 

 eggs is said to be five, varying considerably in size from 1'08 to '9 inch in 

 length, and from -83 to '65 inch in breadth. The ground-colour varies 

 from greyish white to pale greenish blue, sparingly but generally very 

 boldly blotched and streaked, principally at the large end, with very dark 

 brown; the underlying spots are very indistinct (Plate 11). In summer 

 these birds feed principally on insects, but in autumn they commit great 

 havoc amongst the grain-crops. Wilson describes their notes as " not 

 remarkably various, but very peculiar ; the most common one resembles 

 the syllables conk-quer-ree, others the shrill sounds produced by filing a 

 saw, some are more guttural, and others remarkably clear. The usual note 

 of both male and female is a single chuch." The male Red- winged Oriole 

 is black, with crimson shoulders and lesser wing-coverts ; the female is 

 brown, streaked on the upper parts with buff and on the lower parts 

 with white. 



Of the second species, the Rusty Grakle {Scolecophagus ferrugineus) , a 

 single example was obtained near Cardiff on the 4th of October 1881 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1881, p. 968). This species breeds in the arctic 

 regions of America up to the limit of forest-growth. It passes through 

 the Northern States on spring and autumn migration, where a few remain 

 to breed, and winters in the Southern States. In its habits, food, and 

 mode of constructing its nest it is said to resemble very closely the Red- 

 winged Oriole. The eggs are light bluish green in ground-colour, spotted 

 and blotched with purplish brown of various shades, and very rarely 

 streaked with rich brown (Plate 11) ; they measure from 1-02 to -98 inch 

 in length, and from -82 to -75 inch in breadth. The notes of this bird are 

 said to be musical and more melodious than those of the allied species. 

 The male Rusty Grakle has the general colour black, with green and purple 

 reflections. After the autumn moult the broad brown margins to the 

 feathers give the bird a very dingy appearance. The female is blackish 

 grey, the wings and tail sometimes having a greenish tinge. 



Of the third species, the American Meadow-Starling {Sturnella magna) , 

 one was seen in Norfolk in October 1854, and another was shot in Suffolk 

 in March 1860, whilst a third was obtained near Cheltenham. It is common 

 in the Eastern States of North America, being migratory in the north and 

 more or less gregarious in winter. In the west it is represented by a 

 nearly allied form, which is only subspecifically distinct, S. magna, var. 



