30 RED-WINGED STARLING. 



neighbourhood of London ; and, on being opened, its stomach 

 was found to be rilled with grub-worms, caterpillars, and 

 beetles ; which Buffon seems to wonder at, as, " in their own 

 country," he observes, "they feed exclusively on grain and 

 maize." 



Hitherto this species has been generally classed by naturalists 

 with the orioles. By a careful comparison, however, of its 

 bill with those of that tribe, the similarity is by no means 

 sufficient to justify this arrangement ; and its manners are 

 altogether different. I can find no genus to which it makes 

 so near an approach, both in the structure of the bill and in 

 food, flight, and manners, as those of the stare ; with which, 

 following my judicious friend Mr Bartram, I have accordingly 

 placed it. To the European, the perusal of the foregoing 

 pages will be sufficient to satisfy him of their similarity of 

 manners. For the satisfaction of those who are unacquainted 

 with the common starling of Europe, I shall select a few 

 sketches of its character, from the latest and most accurate 

 publication I have seen from that quarter.* Speaking of the 

 stare, or starling, this writer observes, "In the winter season, 

 these birds fly in vast flocks, and may be known at a great 

 distance by their whirling mode of flight, which Buffon com- 

 pares to a sort of vortex, in which the collective body performs 

 an uniform circular revolution, and, at the same time, con- 

 tinues to make a progressive advance. The evening is the 

 time when the stares assemble in the greatest numbers, and 

 betake themselves to the fens and marshes, where they roost 

 among the reeds: they chatter much in the evening and 

 morning, both when they assemble and disperse. So attached 

 are they to society, that they not only join those of their own 

 species, but also birds of a different kind ; and are frequently 

 seen in company with red-wings (a species of thrush), 

 fieldfares, and even with crows, jackdaws, and pigeons. Their 

 principal food consists of worms, snails, and caterpillars; 

 they likewise eat various kinds of grain, seeds, and berries." 

 * Bewick's "British Birds," part i. p. 119. Newcastle, 1809. 



