STURNUS HUMII, Gould. 



Hume's Starling-. 



Sturnus unicolor auct. from N.W. India (nee De La Marmora). 



nitens, Hume, Ibis, 1871, p. 410— Hume & Henders. Lahore to Yark. p. 250, pi. xxiv.— Brooks, Pr. 



A. S. B. 1871, p. 210. 

 , sp., Blanf. East Persia, p. 267. 



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I have already explained my reasons for figuring the true Sturnus unicolor in the present work, and I now 

 give an illustration of the bird which has for so long done duty for that species with Indian writers. Mr. 

 Hume has so succinctly stated the differences of the Cashmere Starling that I do not think I can do better 

 than quote his remarks when he described it as S. nitens (/. <?.) : — " It appears to be the species that has 

 hitherto been identified with S. unicolor of Southern Europe ; but it differs most markedly in its brighter 

 tints and smaller size from the only European example with which I have had an opportunity of comparing 

 it. It is this species which is not uncommon in the Peshawer valley, and which breeds in May in the holes 

 of trees in the compounds of the cantonments. It is equally common, I believe, in Kashmir and Afghani- 

 stan. Compared with the European bird, the bills are less compressed towards the tips, and looked at 

 from above seem more spatulate towards the end. The birds are slighter and smaller, the wings ranging 

 from 4 - 6 to 4"9 inches, against 5*2 in the only European specimen I have to compare it with, and the total 

 length being 7"25 to 8*0, against 9*0 inches in the Sardinian Starling. The colours are brighter (recall- 

 ing the coloration of Juicki), and the plumage more glossy, while the breast-hackles are narrower and 

 shorter. 



"Learning that Gould had figured a new eastern Starling under the name of S. purpurascens, I concluded 

 that this must be my S. nitens ; but having at last had an opportunity of consulting his twenty-second 

 Part of the ' Birds of Asia,' I see that both in plumage and dimensions they differ toto coslo. S. nitens is 

 absolutely speckless, and is much smaller." Mr. Hume then quotes the description given by me in the 

 present work, and he adds a diagnosis of his proposed new species as follows : — 



"Plumage. — Face, head, throat, a deep blue-p\irp\e, the ear-coverts alone having in some lights greenish 

 reflections. Neck all round, upper back and breast a bright ruddy purple. Lower portion of back and 

 upper tail-coverts with a coppery and green gloss. Abdomen black, with a green metallic gloss. Wing- 

 coverts dark green, with, in some lights, a slight golden tinge. Wings with the primaries and their greater 

 coverts and the earlier secondaries towards their bases very narrowly but very distinctly edged with white. 

 Quills greyish brown, outer webs of primaries inside the white edging black, with a narrow band of the 

 same colour at the tip ; secondaries and tertiaries similar, but only about the outer half of the outer web 

 black, and the greater portion of this, in fact all but the tips, overlaid with metallic green, the black band 

 at the tips more conspicuous than in the primaries. Under tail-coverts black, with a faint purple and green 

 gloss. The whole bird absolutely spotless. 



" I think no one can well doubt that S. nitens and S. purpurascens are distinct. From S. vulgaris as well 

 as the Indian race of this latter no one, again, can well question the distinctness of my new Starling. As to 

 S. unicolor, the only specimen I possess, besides being much larger, having a more compressed bill, much 

 longer breast-hackles, larger feet, and stronger claws, altogether lacks the brilliant contrasts of colour so 

 conspicuous in S. nitens. My specimen might have been faded ; but there is no indication of these contrasts 

 in La Marmora's original description, or in Degland and Gerbe. I really think this is a good species ; and I 

 have seen at least fifty specimens of it, all identical. 



Mr. Blanford, in his lately published work on the zoology of Eastern Persia, mentions having found this 

 species on two occasions, at Shiraz in June and in the Jaji Rud valley in the Elburz Mountains in August ; 

 and Major St. John says it is confined to wooded and garden districts, while the ordinary species is common 

 all over Persia, frequenting the high bare plateaux during summer in large numbers. Mr. Blanford is not 

 convinced of the specific distinctness of the present bird ; but he points out that in any case the name nitens 

 cannot be maintained, as this title has already been given by Brehm to the Common Starling. I therefore 

 dedicate the species to Mr. Hume, who has done so much to enrich our knowledge of Indian birds. 



As far as can be determined at present, the range of the present bird seems to be from Cashmere and 

 Afghanistan, where it is common, to Persia, where it is rarer, being replaced in Armenia by my Sturnus 

 purpurascens. 



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