The Purple Guakle. BIRDS. The Baltimore Oriole. 355 
back of the neck is a broad rose-coloured band, com- 
posed of somewhat elongated feathers, forming a sort 
of transverse oecipital crest. 
THE CAPE STAKLDTG {Amydrus morio), an inhab- 
itant of Southern Africa, is very common in the colony 
of the Cape of Good Hope, where it is known to the 
settlers under the names of Mountain Starling and Eed- 
winged Starling. It is about eleven inches long, and 
of a shining blue-black colour, with the primary and 
secondary feathers of the wings reddish-brown, tipped 
with black, the bill black, and the feet brown. This 
bird flies in immense flocks, and feeds principally 
upon fruits. It is especially fond of grapes, and causes 
great damage in the vineyards in consequence of this 
predilection; in fact, without great vigilance on the 
part of the growers, the Starlings in some districts 
would completely ruin the crops of gi’apes. They build 
their nests in the clefts of rocks, lay from four to six 
eggs, and breed twice in the year. 
THE JUNGLE GRAKIE {Gracula religiosa), an in- 
habitant of India and Ceylon, is about twelve inches in 
length, and of a brilliant black colour, with a violet and 
greenish gloss on some parts. Each of tlie seven last 
quills of the wings has a white spot on its outer margin, 
and behind each eye there is a naked membrane, of a 
rich yellow colour, which nearly meets that of the 
opposite side on the occiput. This bird is met with in 
the lofty jungle, where it does not appear to be either 
common or generally distributed ; it is generally seen 
in small parties of four or five, frequenting the tops of 
the highest trees, and feeding on fruits and berries. It 
has a fine and varied song, for the sake of which it is 
often kept in confinement ; it is also said to surpass all 
other birds in its power of imitating the human speech. 
•THE PURPLE GRAKLE [Quiscalus versicolor ). — 
All the remaining birds of this family to which we 
have to refer are inhabitants of the Western hemi- 
sphere ; they form a peculiar group confined to America, 
and distinguished from the other Sturnidie by some 
peculiarities in the form of the bill and tail. 
The Purple Grakle, which is also known as the 
Crow Blackbird, is about twelve inches in length, 
and of a black colour, exhibiting blue, violet, coppery, 
and green tints on some parts of its plumage in certain 
lights. The bill is long and stout, and the inside of 
the upper mandible is furnished with a sharp process, 
resembling the broken blade of a penknife, which is 
no doubt useful to the bird in comminuting its food. 
This occurs in several other species nearly allied to 
the Purple Grakle. * 
This bird .is migratory in its habits, visiting the 
United States of North America during the summer, 
and retiring, before the inclement season, to the warmer 
parts of the American continent and islands. Its 
depredations on the corn fields of the farmers are too 
great to render it a very welcome visitor ; nevertheless, 
at their first arrival, these birds destroy immense 
numbers of caterpillars and grubs, “ as if to recompense 
the husbandman beforehand,” says Wilson, “for the 
havoc they .intend to make among his crops of Indian 
corn.” This, indeed, appears to be sufficiently serious 
to render some payment absolutely necessary, for the 
birds do not confine themselves to plundering the corn 
fields when ripe or nearly so, but attack the plants at 
all stages of growth. But it is when the ears are in a 
milky state that the greatest amount of damage is done. 
The Grakles, and some other birds, mostly near rela- 
tives of the present species, then descend in formidable 
bodies upon the fields, strip off the outer covering of 
leaves with which the ears are protected, and devour 
the milky grain with such avidity as to leave nothing 
but the cobs for the farmer. At this time the gun 
makes sad havoc among them, but the only effect of 
this persecution is to drive them to another field, or to 
another part of the same field, and, in some cases, 
these impudent plunderers succeed in devouring half 
the crop. In some places, Wilson tells us, the farmers 
generally allow one-fourth of the Indian-eorn crop to 
the Blackbirds, among which the Purple Grakle eomes 
in for a good share. 
These birds roost on the cedars and pine trees, and 
build their nests on the highest branches of these. 
The nest is composed of mud, mixed with grass and 
roots, and lined with fine bents and hair. The eggs 
are about five in number, of a bluish-olive colour, 
spotted and streaked with black and dark-brown. Wil- 
son states that the Purple Grakle frequently constructs 
its nest, and rears its young, in the interstices left 
between the large sticks in the nest of the Osprey, and 
that the two birds observe all the duties of good 
neighbourhood. 
THE RUSTY GRAKLE {Scolecophagtis ferrugineus) 
is also a migratory bird, and resembles the preceding 
species in its general habits. It is about nine inches 
long, and of a glossy dark-green or greenish-black 
colour, when adult ; but the young males have the body 
plumage rusty, and the females are brown. This bird 
breeds in the extreme northern parts of the American 
continent, and only passes through the middle states 
on its journey to and from its breeding places. It 
winters in the southern states, and exhibits a strong 
predilection for Indian corn, although it cannot do the 
same damage to the crops as the preceding species. 
THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE {Ypliantes Baltimore), 
which is a summer visitor to the United States of 
America, receives its name from its black and orange 
plumage; those colours being tlie livery of Lord Balti- 
more, formerly proprietary of Maryland. Its colours 
have also procured it several other names, such as Eire 
bird. Golden Kobin, &c. It is about seven inches in 
length, and has the head, throat, upper part of the back, 
and wings black ; the remainder of the plumage is 
bright orange, becoming vermilion-red on the breast ; 
the wing-feathers are edged with white, and the tail- 
feathers black and orange. The female exhibits nearly 
the same arrangement of colours as the male just 
described ; but the black is brownish, and the orange 
tints are paler and duller. 
The nest of the Baltimore Oriole is a beautiful 
pendulous structure, composed of fibrous materials 
neatly and strongly interwoven, and suspended from 
the flexible extremities of the branches of trees. 
Selecting two of these high up in a tree, the bird fas- 
tens strong strings of hemp or flax around them, and 
then proceeds to weave a sort of pouch of similar 
materials, so well worked up as to form a coarse cloth- 
