"The European Starling: A Story of Success and Adaptation"

Discover the European Starling's unique mating behavior, striking seasonal plumage, and courtship displays. Learn how males attract females through song and iridescent colors.

Color: Glossy black with purple/green iridescence, white speckles in winter.

Lifespan: 2-3 years 

Habitat: Europe, Asia, North Africa; introduced in North America, Australia, NZ.

Location: 

Urban areas, farmland, grasslands, woodlands.

The Successful European Starling:

In most parts of North America, the vast and abundant, introduced European Starling is the most successful bird on the continent. Often characterized as bold, this bird is actually quite careful and can be difficult to reach.

European Starling: Flight Profile and Seasonal Plumage:

Hoarded and short-tailed, often seen walking around about lawns and parking lots. 

Flight Profile Specific:

 Buzz in continuous flight, wings look more comfortable in flight triangular. In flight, feathers appear translucent.

 Adults:

 Every year a melted, but fresh fall adults look very different from summer birds. On fresh molten birds, black plumage has white spots everywhere. By winter, the spots begin to disappear. And until spring, the birds are brightly black everywhere, with a strong affinity of pink, green, and amber. The bill is usually gray in the fall and yellow in winter, but the character varies with food. Male: With good shape, note the bill based on blue Female: With good look, pink based bill, light eyes note minor: specific; Dark gray feather on each side. The birds begin to melt completely in the plumage immediately after the escape, and briefly exhibit the amazing mosaic of the juvenal and adult wings.

European Starling: Sub-Races, Similar Species, and Vocalizations:

Apparently, there are only designated sub-races. 12 other sub-races in the old world

Similar Species:

The structure is distinctive, but sometimes confusing with unrelated blackbirds, which are often combined with stars in the larger flock. Blackbirds with more thin body, long tails and low pointed wings. The flight profile is more like a wax wing or medullark than blackbirds.

Voice:

highly diverse. Call: Commonly heard calls include Drone Out, Hussing Ssssheeeer and Wheeeeoooo. Song: Wide, tall ( > 1 minute tall), with complex annoyance and rotating elements, and overall the quality of wheezing; The call notice can be added to the song. Imitates other species, especially those with whistle notes (eg, Kill Dear, Eastern Wood Pevy).

European Starling: Habitat, Migration, and Range Expansion:

Abundant: 

Natural or artificial caves are required. Often expels local species through the holes in the nest. 

Migration: 

Winter returns from the northern part of the range. 

Winter:

 With the highest concentration around cities, feedlots. 

Vagrant:

 It is difficult to estimate the still-expanding range in the United States, and individuals outside the boundary (eg, on the Western Aleutians).

Population:

Central Park, New York, was successfully introduced in 1890-91. by the late 1940s throughout the continent. The population has now crossed 200 million.

Conclusion our this blog:

The European Starling is a highly adaptable and successful introduced species in North America. Since its 1890s introduction, it has grown to over 200 million, thriving in diverse habitats and often displacing native species. Its resilience, distinctive appearance, and vocal diversity make it a lasting presence in the avian world.