262 
COMMON STARLING. 
and in the fenny counties of England, and what 
in Scotland are called holm lands, are frequented 
often by immense bodies, associating with the 
rook and pigeons, flying with them, and feeding 
in their company. They roost in willow beds, 
or reeds by the sides of lakes, or in marshes, and 
an hour before dusk is the most favourable time 
to see their beautiful and varied evolutions, ex- 
tending far from, and around their station, and 
to a considerable height ; the flock at one time 
appearing an irregular and straggling company, 
and at another wheeling into one dark and com- 
pact mass, so close as scarcely to be seen through. 
In Holland we observed this bird in immense 
troops during autumn, shewing its propensity for 
a low-lying and watery country. There they might 
be seen in every meadow, — if distinction could be 
applied to a country which for miles and miles 
shewed an extent of rich low pasture land, sepa- 
rated only by ditches or a canal, — keeping company 
with Rooks and Lapwings, and roosting at night 
in the immense reed beds skirting the meres or 
lochs, breeding about the churches and buildings 
having spires, and sometimes in the old pollard 
willows. In many parts of Scotland where 
they do not breed, they are migratory, appear- 
ing in autumn and spring ; but near her old 
towers and castles, now mostly in ruins, a few 
pairs may be seen, giving life to the generally 
grave characters of these buildings. It may 
be remarked, however, that on the north coasts 
of Scotland, and in the Hebrides, the Starling 
