European Starling

European Starling in the summer

Who doesn't love a good challenge? Often referred to as pests, starlings seem to take over especially after fledging. We can either embrace them or try to discourage them from our feeders, baths and nesting boxes. One thing you have to say about them, starlings are extremely resourceful.

As the name suggests, European Starlings are not native to North America. In the 1890s, Shakespeare enthusiasts wanted all birds mentioned in the bard's works to be found here in the United States. They released 100 starlings in New York's Central Park. The population took off, and now the bird is found from Alaska to Mexico, and from coast to coast, to the tune of 200 million birds!

European Starlings are stocky black birds with short tales. They are covered with white spots during winter but the birds turn dark and glossy in the summer. This happens without shedding feathers. Feathers grown in the fall have bold white tips that give them their spots. By spring, these tips have worn away, and he rest of the feather is dark and iridescent brown. It's an unusual change that scientists term "wear molt."

European Starling in the winter

In flight, starlings' wings are short and pointed, making them look like small four-pointed stars, thus their name.

Starlings are found in backyards, cities or agricultural fields. The need open grassy areas in which to forage, a water source for drinking and bathing, and trees or buildings with a cavity or niche in which to build a nest.

Starlings eat insects and other invertebrates, including grasshoppers, beetles, snails, earthworms, millipedes and spiders. They also eat fruits, including cherries, holly berries, hackberries, mulberries, Virginia creeper, sumac and blackberries. Another favorite in the diet is grain, nectar, seed, livestock feed and garbage. No wonder there are 200 million starlings!

However, it appears that starlings do not like safflower seed. We switch to safflower seed on our platform feeder in summer to give other birds a chance to eat.

Starlings will eat almost anything, including suet

Male starlings build the nest using grass, pine needles, feathers, trash or string. Females finish the nest and may discard some of the material that the male selected. One to three broods are raised each year, with each consisting of three to six eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for 12 days. Chicks are helpless when they hatch. They fledge after 21 days.

Due to their relatively recent arrival in the United States, all of our starlings are closely related genetically. Birds in Virginia are indistinguishable from those found in Utah, for instance.