Birds of Britain 

 THE ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR 



Pastor roseus (Linnaeus) 



Eastern Europe and Asia is the true breeding home of 

 this species, which wanders about in immense numbers, breed- 

 ing gregariously wherever it happens to find itself at that 

 season. Stragglers from these flocks often join with other 

 migrating hosts of birds, and thus this species occurs as an 

 irregular wanderer over the rest of Europe. The farther 

 west, however, the rarer it becomes, and its occurrences in 

 our islands, though noted from most districts, are not very 

 frequent. It is about the size of the common Starling but 

 has a longish black crest. Except for the back, shoulders, 

 breast, and belly, which are rose pink, it is of a uniform 

 metallic black. Length 8'5 in. ; wing 5 in 



THE CHOUGH 



Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linnaeus) 



This bird is one of the handsomest and at the same time 

 our rarest member of the Crow family. With its glossy 

 black plumage and brilliant red legs and beak it forms a 

 beautiful sight to the ornithologist as he watches it flying 

 over the wild and wind-swept headland that juts out into 

 the Atlantic. 



Its flight is extremely graceful and peculiar ; a few beats 

 of its wings, then it glides onward with outstretched pinions, 



154 



