summer

summer winter European distribution summer adult

Identification

Starlings have mainly black bodies and yellow bills like Blackbirds but they are smaller and fatter with more pointed heads and longer, more pointed wings. Their plumage is always speckled although in summer the markings on the breast are replaced by iridescent tones of green and blue. Juveniles start off as plain brown with a black bill and characteristic shape.

Habitat

Breeds in towns, woods, parks, and on farms. Winters in cities, gardens and farmland.

Behaviour

Starlings in winter gather in spectacular communal roosts which may hold thousands or even millions of birds. In Britain these roosts were often in the centre of cities where they made a wonderful sight, a deafening sound and a disgusting carpet of droppings. Local authorities tried all sorts of measures to remedy this problem but, before a solution was found, the Starlings became much less numerous and the problem eased. Starlings are responsible for the pale blue eggs which sometimes appear in the middle of lawns in summer. Basically the female lays as many eggs as she can, but if the food supply doesn't seem promising then it wouldn't be sensible to try to rear too many young. The Starlings therefore deliberately jettison one or more of the eggs before they hatch.

Migration

Northern and eastern birds are migratory becoming more resident westwards. Birds in urban areas are more likely to remain in their breeding sites, especially in urban areas, although young birds tend to be dispersive.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Starling is classed as Common: common species, including species that are certain or probable escapees from captivity when occurring in the British Isles. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Hoswick, Shetland 21/06/2010	Rayne, Essex 20/07/2010	Rayne, Essex 20/07/2010	Longton, Lancs 22/05/2010	Jerzmanki, Lower Silesia, Poland 18/07/2010
Lady's Island Lake, Wexford 17/07/2010	Lady's Island Lake, Wexford 17/07/2010	Barnes WWT, London 10/07/2010	Warrington, Cheshire 11/07/2010	Coychurch, Glamorgan 07/07/2010

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Starling breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Azores
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Canary Islands
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

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