3°7 



A YORKSHIRE SPECIMEN OF STURNUS UNICOLOR, 

 AND OTHER UNCOMMON BIRDS, IN A 

 YORK COLLECTION. 



JAMES BACKHOUSE, Jun., M.B.O.U., 



York ; Secretary to the Vertebrate Section of the Yorkshire Naturalists Union. 



A few days ago whilst looking over the valuable collection of British 

 Birds belonging to the York Blue Coat Boys' School, I had my 

 attention drawn especially to a case containing a company of Starlings 

 in various states of plumage, and amongst them two varieties, a cream- 

 coloured one and a black one, i.e., an unspotted one! Thinking 

 that possibly this latter bird might be a specimen of the Sardinian or 

 Unspotted Starling, I wrote, on my return home, to Mr. Dresser for 

 skins, which he kindly sent at once, and by the aid of which I was 

 enabled upon next visiting the collection to identify the Black Starling 

 without doubt as the Sardinian species. It is apparently an im- 

 mature male. An inspection of the case in which this bird stands 

 revealed a label bearing the following important words : — ' Presd. by 

 G. Wright, 31, Fossgate. 1840. Blk. Starling, shot nr. Howden.' I 

 have here given every word exactly as they are written upon the case, 

 that there may be no mistake. 



I further learnt from the keeper of the collection, Mr. Helstrip, 

 that he remembered this bird being given to the Blue Coat School 

 for their collection by the late Mr. Chapman, Birdstuffer, St. Helen's 

 Square, as a curious melanism ! 



Having stated all the facts relating to this bird that I know worth 

 recording, I leave the question of worthiness to rank as a British 

 Bird to those who are competent to judge; but as this species has only 

 a very limited range in Europe, probably never having been known 

 to occur north of the Riviera, I thought it best to send this note to 

 the ' Naturalist.' 



I do not advocate its being called a British Bird, however, even 

 if its claim as having actually occurred appears to justify such a 

 term, for I highly disapprove of cataloguing 'waifs and strays' along 

 with our own avifauna. 



Why should / be termed a Frenchman because I take a trip to 

 France to see the country? And why should a young and inex- 

 perienced Sturnus unicolorhz dubbed a 'British Bird' if he happens 

 to stray away out of his right migration route in some severe gale, 

 and fall a victim to a Howden gunner? 



Oct. 1886. 



