. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . verts areblack, with white tips. The tail-feathers are ash colour attheir base, black in the central portion, and bright yellow attheir tips. In males of mature age the tail-feathers are alsofurnished with the same horny spoon-shaped appendages ofbright red, before mentioned, these are never more than aline or a line and a half in length. The under wing-covertsare greyish, or pearl white, changing to grey and ash colourtowards the tips of the quill-feathers. The vent and longunder tail-coverts are bay, or reddish-brown. The younger bi
. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . verts areblack, with white tips. The tail-feathers are ash colour attheir base, black in the central portion, and bright yellow attheir tips. In males of mature age the tail-feathers are alsofurnished with the same horny spoon-shaped appendages ofbright red, before mentioned, these are never more than aline or a line and a half in length. The under wing-covertsare greyish, or pearl white, changing to grey and ash colourtowards the tips of the quill-feathers. The vent and longunder tail-coverts are bay, or reddish-brown. The younger birds (which are more generally met with)have the ornamental feathers of the head much shorter, theyellow colour on the quills and tip of the tail much paler,and the red appendages smaller and less numerous on thewing, and entirely wanting on the tail. The females are in all respects like the male, but theircolours are paler and less defined. These birds do not moultbefore August or September, according to observations madeboth on tame and wild STARLING. 167 LVSESSORES. STURNIDJE. CONIROSTRES. PLATE CXXIL STARLING. Sturnus vulgaris. The Starling is an inhabitant of most of the countriesof Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in almost all is commonand plentiful. It is found from the Cape of Good Hope toSiberia ; and from Italy to Norway and Sweden, ranging asfar north as Iceland. The Starling most abounds in level countries, where woods,meadows, and corn-fields are intermingled, and where wateris at hand. After the breeding-season they are seen in largeflocks on fresh-mown grass-fields, among cattle, near thegrassy banks of rivers, and particularly in places where rushesabound, to which they are very partial as roosting places, andwhither they return every evening from miles distant. On the continent of Europe Starlings leave the northernparts for the more southern in winter, and migrate in verylarge flocks by daylight. They begin to travel south aboutOctober, and return i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookidcoloured, booksubjectbirds
