Order PASSERES.] 
[Fait. STURNID^E. 
CEEADION CAEUNCULATUS. 
(THE SADDLE-BACK.) 
Wattled Stare, Lath. Gen. Syn. iii. p. 9, pi. 36 (1783). 
Sturnas carunculatus, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 805 (1788, ex Lath.). 
Creadion pharoides, Bonn, et Yieill. Enc. Meth. p. 874 (1823). 
Icterus rufusater, Less. Voy. Coq. i. p. 649, pi. xxiii. fig. 1 (1826). 
Xanthornus carunculatus, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l’Astr. i. p. 212, pi. 12. fig. 4 (1830). 
Oxystomus carunculatus, Swains. Classif. of B. ii. p. 270 (1837). 
Creadio carunculatus. Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 218 (1850). 
Native names. 
Tieke, Tiraweke, Tirauweke, and Purourou. 
ad. nitide niger : dorso cum tectricibus alarum, supracaudalibus et subcaudalibus las to ferrugiueis : carunculis 
rictalibus miniatis : rostro et pedibus nigris : iride nigricanti-brunnea . 
$ mari similis, sed minor et carunculis minoribus distinguenda. 
Adult male. General plumage glossy black; back, wing-coverts, upper and lower tail-coverts bright ferruginous. 
Irides blackish brown ; bill and legs black ; wattles varying in tint from a clear yellow to a bright vermilion, 
being apparently affected by physical conditions, such as the health of the bird or the temperature of the 
weather. Total length 10 inches; extent of wings 12'5 ; wing, from flexure, 4; tail 3'5 ; bill, along the 
ridge D25, along the edge of lower mandible 1‘4; tarsus l - 5; middle toe and claw D25 ; hind toe and 
claw Dl. 
Female. Of inferior size to the male, and having the wattles of a somewhat lighter colour. 
Young. Has the colours of the adult, but with the tints duller and no sheen or gloss on the plumage ; the 
wattles extremely small and of a pale yellow colour. 
Obs. In the Natural-History Museum of the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, I observed an adult specimen in 
partial albino plumage ; and in the Canterbury Museum there is an example with a single white feather 
on the breast. 
This bird derives its popular name from a peculiarity in the distribution of its two strongly contrasted 
colours, black and ferruginous, the latter of which covers the back, forms a shaiply defined margin 
across the shoulders, and sweeps over the wings in a manner suggestive of saddle-flaps. The colours, 
in the male bird especially, are of so decided a kind as to attract special attention, to say nothing of 
the loud notes and eccentric habits of this remarkable bird. The hill is strong, sharply cut, and 
wedge-shaped, being well adapted for digging into decaying vegetable matter in search of larvae, 
grubs, and insects, on which this species largely subsists. Berries, tender buds, and other vegetable 
substances likewise contribute to its support. From the angle of the mouth on each side there hangs 
a fleshy wattle, or caruncle, shaped like a cucumber-seed, and of a changeable bright yellow colour. 
The wings are short and feeble, and the flight of the bird, though rapid, is very laboured, and always 
confined to a short distance. 
