Facts About Starlings
It is hard to imagine now, but European
starlings were purposefully introduced from Europe into this country. After
two failed attempts, about 60 European starlings were released into New York’s
Central Park in 1890 by a small group of people with a passion to introduce all
of the animals mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. The offspring of
the original 60 starlings have spread across the continental United States,
northward to southern Canada and Alaska, and southward into Central America.
There are now an estimated 150 million starlings in the United States.
In 1889 and 1892, the Portland Song Bird Club released 35 pairs of starlings in Portland, Oregon. These birds established themselves, but then disappeared in 1901 or 1902. The next sighting of a starling in the Pacific Northwest was not until the mid-1940s. Presumably these birds could be genetically linked to the 1890 Central Park introduction.
It is difficult to reach a consensus on starlings. Some value the species for their creative adaptively and their odd beauty. Many hold a strong dislike of starlings because of their aggressive behavior at feeders and nesting sites, and their overwhelming flocks and roosting habits. There is only one thing on which agreement can be reached regarding starlings—they are ubiquitous.
Facts about Starlings
Food and Feeding Habits
In 1889 and 1892, the Portland Song Bird Club released 35 pairs of starlings in Portland, Oregon. These birds established themselves, but then disappeared in 1901 or 1902. The next sighting of a starling in the Pacific Northwest was not until the mid-1940s. Presumably these birds could be genetically linked to the 1890 Central Park introduction.
It is difficult to reach a consensus on starlings. Some value the species for their creative adaptively and their odd beauty. Many hold a strong dislike of starlings because of their aggressive behavior at feeders and nesting sites, and their overwhelming flocks and roosting habits. There is only one thing on which agreement can be reached regarding starlings—they are ubiquitous.
Facts about Starlings
Food and Feeding Habits
- Starlings forage on lawns and other
areas of short grass, such as pastures, golf courses, turf farms, and similar
places.
- One of their very favorite foods is
the large larva of the leatherjacket, or marsh cranefly (Tipula paludosa),
which eats the roots of grass plants. Leatherjackets (like starlings) are not
native here, and were unintentionally introduced from Europe.
- Starlings have unique jaw muscles
designed both to clamp shut and spring open, allowing them to use their bills
to pry things open, including openings in the soil.
- Starlings also eat fruit, seeds and
suet at bird feeders, and food scraps.
Nesting and Roosting Sites
- Starlings nest in suitable holes and
crevices in buildings, utility poles, decaying trees, and holes in cliff faces,
6 to 60 feet above ground.
- Males establish territories and
choose nest sites, then attract females.
- Male starlings are very aggressive
when claiming nest sites, taking over nest boxes and other cavities even while
they are in use by such native birds as bluebirds, woodpeckers, and swallows.
- The nest is an untidy collection of
grasses, bark strips, twigs, rope, and other debris. The nest cup is lined with
feathers, mosses, or other soft material.
- In late summer and fall, starlings
form large flocks and roost in large deciduous trees. In early winter, when
trees lose their leaves, starlings roost in areas that provide protection from
wind and cold, including coniferous trees, areas under bridges, and in grain
terminals and barns.
- During the night, individual birds
change their position in the roost to minimize energy loss, with older birds
maintaining the “best” positions.
Reproduction
- Starlings can be building nests,
sitting on eggs, or caring for young anytime from mid February to early July.
- Four to six slightly glossy, pale
blue eggs hatch after an incubation period of 11 to 13 days.
- Both parents take turns with
incubation during the day; at night only the female remains on the nest.
- The young begin to fly at 18 to 21
days of age, and out-of-nest care by parents lasts 2 to 4 days.
- A pair of adults can raise two
broods per year. The female typically starts laying a second brood shortly
after the first one fledges.
- Starling eggs (which are about the
same size, shape, and color as robin eggs) often are found lying on the ground.
It is believed that the females drop eggs if they are ready to lay, but the
nest is not yet complete or has been taken over by another bird.
Mortality
- Adult starlings have few predators,
although hawks and falcons occasionally catch them in flight.
- Loss of young starlings results from
starvation, adverse weather, and predation by owls, raccoons, rats, domestic
cats, and other predators.
Humans, via control programs in agricultural areas, are probably responsible for most starling mortality.
This information was provided by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Russell Link, and Michael Holmquist
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