European starling • Sturnus vulgaris
A European starling photographed by Kim Wetten with the VIU Bird Banding Project
Identification
The European starling's plumage is distinctive throughout the year. During the spring and summer breeding months its plumage is black with a greenish-purple iridescence, and its large slender bill is yellow. In fall and winter its bill turns dark, and its plumage becomes more brownish and heavily spotted with white. The European starling makes a wide variety of sounds — squeaks, rattles, whistles, twitters, chirps, and more — and it has a talent for mimicking the calls and songs of other birds, as well as man-made sounds. It can form large and dense flocks outside of the breeding season, and it is often seen foraging with other species including blackbirds, grackles, and cowbirds.
Habitat & Range
The European starling inhabits a wide variety of open and disturbed habitats, including in cities, suburbs, farms, and parks. It is also is very adaptable to different nesting sites and utilize a variety of different cavities, including those created by other species. It is an introduced species in North America; it is found year-round throughout most of the United States and southern Canada, while birds in more northern areas of the continent move south within this range for winter. The species is native to Europe and Asia, and has also been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.
Intriguing Info
The European starling was introduced to North America in 1890-1891, when 100 birds were released in New York's Central Park as part of an ongoing attempt by members of the American Acclimatization Society to introduce to North America all the bird species mentioned in Shakespeare's works. While the introductions of other species — like skylarks and nightingales — did not succeed, the European starling thrived in North America. Within about 50 it had spread across the continent to the west coast, and with populations numbering over 200 million it is considered one of the world's most invasive species. Read more about this dramatic introduction in Time Magazine's Top 10 Invasive Species profile and 'The Invasive Speices We Can Blame On Shakespeare' by the Smithsonian.
Concerns surrounding the starling's spread across North America are both economic and environmental. It is an aggressive species and can out-compete native birds for nesting cavities, however this may not translate to population-level impacts on native species (for example, this 2003 study found few actual impacts on 27 native species in North America). Large flocks are considered a general public nuisance due to the amount of noise, mess, and damage to infrastructure they can create. Large flocks can also cause a substantial amount of agricultural damage: in the United States the amount of lost cropland due to starlings has been estimated at $800 million each year.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/14850-Sturnus-vulgaris
The European starling's plumage is distinctive throughout the year. During the spring and summer breeding months its plumage is black with a greenish-purple iridescence, and its large slender bill is yellow. In fall and winter its bill turns dark, and its plumage becomes more brownish and heavily spotted with white. The European starling makes a wide variety of sounds — squeaks, rattles, whistles, twitters, chirps, and more — and it has a talent for mimicking the calls and songs of other birds, as well as man-made sounds. It can form large and dense flocks outside of the breeding season, and it is often seen foraging with other species including blackbirds, grackles, and cowbirds.
Habitat & Range
The European starling inhabits a wide variety of open and disturbed habitats, including in cities, suburbs, farms, and parks. It is also is very adaptable to different nesting sites and utilize a variety of different cavities, including those created by other species. It is an introduced species in North America; it is found year-round throughout most of the United States and southern Canada, while birds in more northern areas of the continent move south within this range for winter. The species is native to Europe and Asia, and has also been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.
Intriguing Info
The European starling was introduced to North America in 1890-1891, when 100 birds were released in New York's Central Park as part of an ongoing attempt by members of the American Acclimatization Society to introduce to North America all the bird species mentioned in Shakespeare's works. While the introductions of other species — like skylarks and nightingales — did not succeed, the European starling thrived in North America. Within about 50 it had spread across the continent to the west coast, and with populations numbering over 200 million it is considered one of the world's most invasive species. Read more about this dramatic introduction in Time Magazine's Top 10 Invasive Species profile and 'The Invasive Speices We Can Blame On Shakespeare' by the Smithsonian.
Concerns surrounding the starling's spread across North America are both economic and environmental. It is an aggressive species and can out-compete native birds for nesting cavities, however this may not translate to population-level impacts on native species (for example, this 2003 study found few actual impacts on 27 native species in North America). Large flocks are considered a general public nuisance due to the amount of noise, mess, and damage to infrastructure they can create. Large flocks can also cause a substantial amount of agricultural damage: in the United States the amount of lost cropland due to starlings has been estimated at $800 million each year.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/14850-Sturnus-vulgaris
References
Davidson, P.J.A. (2015). European Starling. In Davidson, P.J.A., R.J. Cannings, A.R. Couturier, D. Lepage, and C.M. Di Corrado (eds.).The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of British Columbia, 2008-2012. Bird Studies Canada. Delta, B.C.
Dunn, J. L. and Alderfer, J. (Eds.). (2011). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. (6th Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Pp. 410-411.
Global Invasive Species Database. (2018). Species profile: Sturnus vulgaris. Accessed 19/04/2018.
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris. Audubon Guide to North American Birds. Accessed 19/04/2018.
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online. Accessed 19/04/2018.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell (2018).
Davidson, P.J.A. (2015). European Starling. In Davidson, P.J.A., R.J. Cannings, A.R. Couturier, D. Lepage, and C.M. Di Corrado (eds.).The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of British Columbia, 2008-2012. Bird Studies Canada. Delta, B.C.
Dunn, J. L. and Alderfer, J. (Eds.). (2011). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. (6th Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Pp. 410-411.
Global Invasive Species Database. (2018). Species profile: Sturnus vulgaris. Accessed 19/04/2018.
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris. Audubon Guide to North American Birds. Accessed 19/04/2018.
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online. Accessed 19/04/2018.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell (2018).