Tristan and Isolde

Lovers in a medieval romance based on Celtic legend. The hero Tristan goes to Ireland to ask the hand of the princess Isolde for his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. On their return the two mistakenly drink a love potion prepared for the king and fall deeply in love. After many adventures, they make peace with Mark, who marries Isolde. The distraught Tristan goes to Brittany, where he marries another noble Isolde. When he is wounded by a poisoned arrow, he sends for the first Isolde. His jealous wife tells him his true love has refused to come; he dies just before she arrives, and she dies in his arms. The original poem has not survived, but it exists in many later versions and even became part of Arthurian legend. Gottfried von Strassburg's 13th-century version, considered the masterpiece of medieval German poetry, was the basis for Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (first performed in 1865).

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Tristram's Starling or Tristram's Grackle (Onychognathus tristramii) is native to Israel, Jordan, northeastern Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), western Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, nesting mainly on rocky cliff faces.

A member of the starling family, it is 25 cm long (including a 9 cm tail), with a wingspan of 44-45 cm, and a weight of 100-140 g. The males have glossy iridescent black plumage with orange patches on the outer wing, which are particularly noticeable in flight. The bill and legs are black. Females and young birds are similar but duller and with a greyish head, lacking the plumage gloss.

It is gregarious and noisy, with a call that resembles a wolf-whistle. They are omnivorous, feeding on fruit and invertebrates, and can also be observed grooming Nubian Ibex and domestic livestock for parasites. They are becoming increasingly commensal with man, feeding in towns and villages; this has enabled a recent northward spread in their distribution.

The species is named after Reverend Henry Baker Tristram.

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