THE STARLINGS. 
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latter inclining to steel-blue and steel-green ; wings variegated, 
the quills black, with a spot of ashy grey just before the ends 
°f the inner primaries and secondaries, the secondary quills 
path a steel-blue or green line just before the tip ; bill yellow ; 
teet reddish brown ; iris light brown. Total length, 8 inches ; 
culmen, ro ; wing, 5-0; tail, 2 4 ; tarsus, ri. 
Adult in Winter Plumage. — Similar to the summer plumage, but 
entirely obscured by sandy buff tips to the feathers, so that the 
colour, especially on the throat, can be traced only with dififi- 
culty. The bill is brownish black at this season of the year. 
The female resembles the male in colour, but the gloss of 
j.he plumage is never so brilliant. The sandy buff tips to the 
leathers, which are lost in the m ile by being abraded and worn 
?“> never entirely disappear in the female, and are still to 
e seen to a greater or less extent in the breeding bird. 
Young. — Entirely different from the adults, being almost 
uniform brown or dove-colour, the breast and abdomen white, 
streaked with brown. 
The intermediate form of Starling between our common 
,ds and the Siberian Starling (S. menzbieri) is figured on the 
Plate (PI. in., Fig. 2), and differs from the typical bird in 
naving the head and throat washed with purple, but the ear- 
coverts green. In S. menzbieri the head, throat, and ear-coverts 
are all purple. 
B-iage in Great Britain. — Almost universally distributed, and 
pf late years becoming common in parts of Scotland, where 
u wa s formerly rare or unknown. Nor is this to be wondered 
a h as the autumnal migration to our shores is enormous, and 
for days together flocks of migrants pour into our eastern coasts. 
Range outside the British Islands. — Found everywhere in sum- 
mer throughout Europe, but only occurring as a winter visitor 
in the countries of the Mediterranean. Its eastern range ex- 
tends as far as Egypt and Persia in winter, but in Central 
Siberia it is replaced by Sturnus menzbieri. The range of 
the intermediate form, if the latter be a true species, is not yet 
determined. 
Hahits — -The Starling is gregarious in the winter season, 
and is generally to be found in the society of Rooks, with 
