Starling – Birds in my back garden

The British Starling, otherwise known as the common Starling or simply as 'Starling', has been around for centuries. It has a striking appearance, and if you have seen them roosting or a murmuration, you know what unique birds they are. During autumn and winter each year, we get lots of them roosting in nearby poplar trees taking in the final rays of the sun around dusk and during my research, I discovered lots of interesting things about them. So in this article, I will share with you 11 fascinating facts about the British Starling. Here are 11 fascinating facts about the British Starling: British Starlings are members of the Sturnidae family.Starlings have an unusual molting pattern.Starlings were purposefully introduced to North America.Starlings can mimic sounds they’ve heard only one time.Starlings have been known to get drunk.Starlings eat seeds, nuts, grains, fruits, and even dog food.Starlings can be polygamous.Starlings are common in lab experiments.Starlings will often displace native birds from their homes.Starlings feature in many myths and legends.Starlings make great pets. If you’re interested to know about the British starling, then read on as we dive into the life and times of this beautiful bird and look at its place in human history. 1. British Starlings Are Members of the Sturnidae Family The British Starling is a member of the larger bird family called Sturnidae. Starlings are found all over the world, including in Africa, Asia, and northern Australia. Starlings found in Britain are referred to as common Starlings. Common Starlings are small and black, with yellow beaks and short tails. If you are looking at a bird close-up, they can be identified by their shimmering green feathers. If you’re looking at them from below, you might see their spread-eagle position as a star-shaped silhouette. These birds are native to Britain and Ireland. However, according to the RSPB, common Starling numbers are steadily declining across all of Europe. It’s not clear why this is, but the continued urbanization of their habitat is one possible reason. 2. Starlings Have an Unusual Molting Pattern If you see a bird in the wintertime and don’t see any iridescent green feathers, you might question if you have really seen a Starling. However, Starlings’ feathers change in the wintertime to create a thicker, fluffier coat of plumage. This keeps them from freezing to death in these colder months. However, they don’t shed their feathers. Rather, their feathers will fluff out and grow to develop bold white tips. This will give them a “spotted” appearance.” In the summer, the tips wear out, and the feathers revert to their glossy finish. This moulting pattern called “feather wear” is unique to birds like the Starling and Goldfinch and results in a distinctive plumage all year round. So before ruling out a bird you’ve sighted as a Starling, try to remember what their feathers look like at this time of year. It may be a Starling after all! 3. Starlings Were Purposefully Introduced to North America In 1890 and 1891, an ornithologist named Eugene Schieffelin released 100 common Starlings in New York City’s Central Park. These Starlings were imported from England, and Schieffelin needed to release two different flocks to get the bird to succeed in the United States. All the Starlings in North America are descended from these 100 birds. In some species, that may cause some genetic problems from inbreeding. However, Starlings have not yet seemed to suffer from any ill effects from this. The alleged reason for his doing so may surprise you: according to the BBC, Schieffelin wanted as many birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays as possible introduced to the United States. Schieffelin also tried to introduce the Bullfinch, Nightingale, and Skylark. (These efforts were unsuccessful.) Schieffelin’s obituary doesn’t mention Shakespeare but instead cites his desire to “exterminate the caterpillars which infested the trees in Madison Square,” so this story is likely, not true. After Schieffelin finally successfully introduced the Starling, the birds exceeded his expectations by far. But, in fact, they’ve become something of a nuisance. Nowadays, there are over 200 million common Starlings in the US and Mexico. Starlings cost farmers in the United States around $1 billion in crop damage, particularly fruits and grains, and have caused a ripple effect in other industries such as dairy farms. 4. Starlings Can Mimic Sounds They’ve Heard Only One Time Starlings are famously noisy birds. They’re also talented mimics. They’re so good that they are often mistaken for human beings! Adult Starlings in the wild have been known to repeat a sound or word it has heard just once and often integrate these sounds into their own calls. So if you hear an eerie bird call in the wild that seems to call out somebody’s name, it’s probably just a Starling repeating something it heard. Starlings use their songs to attract mates and communicate with one another. For example, if several Starlings are concentrated in an area with a lot of alarms ringing, you might start to hear the Starlings talk to each other with car alarms! For a great clip of a Starling saying its species’ name, check out this sweet video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhBaVInb3jI 5. Starlings Eat Seeds, Nuts, Grains, Fruits, and Even Dog Food If you live in an area with lots of wild Starlings and want to offer them a treat in your bird feeder, here are some of the things you can leave out for them that will keep them coming back for more: Sunflower heartsSunflower seedsFat BallsCracked cornFruit MilletOatsPeanuts In the US, Project FeederWatch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology aims to help help you figure out the best combination of food to put into your bird feeder. First, pay attention to what kinds of birds live in the area surrounding you, then make sure to put food that is common to the diets of all species. However, if you happen to have a pet Starling, you’ll find that an extremely common pet food mix will also suit your Starling very well: dog food. That’s right, according to the Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital, soaked dog food mixed with other high-protein ingredients like applesauce or a hard-boiled egg will give them the nutrients they need. Cat food will also work for Starlings if the cat food is high in protein. Remember that birds in captivity will need to be fed more balanced diets than wild birds eating from your bird feeder. Starlings in the wild will eat worms and insects, giving them the protein they so badly need! 6. Starlings Have Been Known To Get Drunk Like dozens of other members of the animal kingdom, Starlings have been known to get drunk, albeit accidentally. According to a study in the US during 2020 in animals, Starlings are affected by introducing ethanol into their bloodstream, which can happen if they eat any fermented fruit. Starlings have been witnessed eating over-ripe fruit and then behaving in a way that suggests intoxication. In addition, it affects the way they sing their songs and their flight patterns. Still, a Starling won’t drink straight alcohol, so don’t expect one to come and take a sip of your beer. 7. Starlings Can Be Polygamous Starlings were thought to be monogamous creatures for some time, according to this US 1992 study from Behavior. However, as we’ve continued to study these animals, we’ve realized that both monogamy and polygamy are normal, natural behaviour for them. In addition, Starling’s family structure is unique from other species as well. Specifically, Starlings are polygynous, meaning that they will often group several female Starlings with one male. This is often a beneficial arrangement for the baby birds, who have one extra parent to care for them. While a monogamous male and female pairing will often raise one brood together, some male Starlings will take another female to breed. The adult Starlings will care for the two broods together. 8. Starlings Are Common in Lab Experiments Starlings are common in the wild, but did you know that they’re also likely to be found in a laboratory? Starlings are easy to study and reproduce quickly, so they, unfortunately, make ideal lab animals. I was unable to find any recent data on this but according to a study in the Journal of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research based in the US, published in 2008, used the common Starling as a lab animal, with 606 total birds used. Researchers have also expressed concern about the welfare of these Starlings kept in captivity for husbandry and scientific purposes. Similarly, a study back in 2008 by the website Laboratory Animals found that standards of care for Starlings often fell well below the best practice recommendations in the UK. For example, the cages they were kept in were often half the recommended size. 9. Starlings Will Often Displace Native Birds From Their Homes A recent addition to North America, Starlings, are notorious for edging native species out of an area until Starlings are the majority population. One way they do this is by quite literally pushing them out of their nests. Starlings will find a nest in an ideal spot for them where another bird has already done the work for them and move in. It’s a major concern for countries where Starlings were artificially introduced. However, according to the Cornell Lab, a study in 2003 found that the only species that experienced negative effects after introducing Starlings in North America were sapsuckers. 10. Starlings Feature in Many Myths and Legends The mysterious Starling has captured the human imagination for many years and crops up in myths and legends worldwide! Their ability to replicate human speech is often represented in a way that makes them excellent helpers for stories’ human heroes. One of the earliest references to Starlings is from Pliny the Elder, a Roman philosopher. In AD 77, Pliny the Elder completed his major work Natural History, which included a section concerning the Natural History of Birds. Pliny mentions that he knows some youths who “have a Starling and some Nightingales that are being taught to talk in Greek and Latin” and describe their training method. Starlings have played a part in Welsh mythology, perhaps most notably in the Legend of Branwen. Being abused by her husband, Branwen teaches a Starling to speak and sends it to her brother to share her plight. The Starling succeeds, and her brothers come to rescue her. With the Starlings’ powers of mimicry, a tale like this is certainly possible! 11. Starlings Make Great Pets Famous composer Mozart had a common Starling as a pet, which he purchased in 1784 and buried three years later. The Starling was said to sing pieces of his famous Piano Concerto in G Major, albeit a little awkwardly. In fact, some have speculated that Mozart’s A Musical Joke (1787) was based on how his Starling sang. The name references the composition’s playfulness, with awkward off-key sections and uncertain structure, much like a Starling’s song. As you might expect, Starlings make excellent, loyal pets and can be a joy to have in your home. Caring for a Starling is not the same as caring for other birds; however, you will want to do plenty of research to ensure that your Starlings’ diet keeps it healthy. For more information on how to raise a Starling to be a healthy, friendly pet bird, visit the Starling Talk website. FACT: Remember that it is illegal to capture any wild bird in the UK unless appropriately licenced. Further information can be found on the Government website. Final Thoughts British Starlings are beautiful birds that are found all over the world, thanks to ornithologists like Eugene Schieffelin. They have startling powers of imitation in their songs and have captured the imagination of storytellers for thousands of years. But, unfortunately, they can also be harmful to agriculture and native species if introduced without considering the consequences. Starlings are native to the UK, and I am sure you will have come across them! Other related question asked Are Starlings a British bird? The common Starling or European Starling, also known simply as the starling in the UK and Ireland is resident in the UK they also make up a family of small birds that are also found in Europe, Asia and Africa. Some of the Starlings found in the UK are also visitors having migrated to the UK from colder parts of Europe and overwinter. Are Starlings bad in the UK? Generally, Starlings are perceived as quite destructive birds especially when they gather in large flocks. Large numbers of roosting birds can also impact other local birds who can be driven out of their nesting locations. See Also What is the difference between Sparrow and Dunnock?Birds of Prey: South and South-East EnglandWhat is the difference between Crow and Raven?What is the difference between Raven and Rook?Which birds murmurate? Video Birds on the feeder in my garden - Slow motion