Genus STURNUS, Linnæus.
Sturnus, Linn. Syst. Nat., I, (ed. 10,) 1758, 167. (Type, S. vulgaris.)
Gen. Char. Bill long, conical, much depressed; the culmen, gonys, and commissure nearly straight, the latter angulated at base. Wings, twice length of tail; much pointed, the primaries graduating rapidly from the second, the first being rudimentary, the secondaries much shorter. Tail nearly even; the feathers acuminate. Tarsi short; about equal to middle toe; lateral toes equal. Plumage coarse and stiff, each feather distinctly outlined.
Sturnus vulgaris.
19020
The bill of Sturnus is very similar to that of Sturnella, although less inflected at the edges. The shorter tarsi, much longer wings, with the innermost secondaries much less than the primaries, etc., readily distinguish the two families.
THE STARLING.
Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, (ed. 10,) 1758, 167; (ed. 12,) 1766, 290.—Degland & Gerbe, Orn. Europ. I, 1867, 232.—Reinhardt, Ibis, 1861, 7 (Greenland).
Sp. Char. Feathers principally lustrous-black, with purple and green reflections, except at their extremities, which are dull and opaque; brownish above, silvery-white beneath. Bill yellow in spring, brown in autumn. Legs flesh-color. Length about 8.51; wing, 5.11; tail, 2.81; bill above, 1.11, from nostril, .75; gape, 1.15; tarsus, 1.15; middle toe and claw, 1.15. Female similar, but less brilliant.