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23700 = = = Voice = = = |
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23701 The common starling is a noisy bird . Its song consists of a wide variety of both melodic and mechanical @-@ sounding noises as part of a ritual succession of sounds . The male is the main songster and engages in bouts of song lasting for a minute or more . Each of these typically includes four varieties of song type , which follow each other in a regular order without pause . The bout starts with a series of pure @-@ tone whistles and these are followed by the main part of the song , a number of variable sequences that often incorporate snatches of song mimicked from other species of bird and various naturally occurring or man @-@ made noises . The structure and simplicity of the sound mimicked is of greater importance than the frequency with which it occurs . Each sound clip is repeated several times before the bird moves on to the next . After this variable section comes a number of types of repeated clicks followed by a final burst of high @-@ frequency song , again formed of several types . Each bird has its own repertoire with more proficient birds having a range of up to 35 variable song types and as many as 14 types of clicks . |
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23702 Males sing constantly as the breeding period approaches and perform less often once pairs have bonded . In the presence of a female , a male sometimes flies to his nest and sings from the entrance , apparently attempting to entice the female in . Older birds tend to have a wider repertoire than younger ones . Those males that engage in longer bouts of singing and that have wider repertoires attract mates earlier and have greater reproductive success than others . Females appear to prefer mates with more complex songs , perhaps because this indicates greater experience or longevity . Having a complex song is also useful in defending a territory and deterring less experienced males from encroaching . |
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23703 Singing also occurs outside the breeding season , taking place throughout the year apart from the moulting period . The songsters are more commonly male although females also sing on occasion . The function of such out @-@ of @-@ season song is poorly understood . Eleven other types of call have been described including a flock call , threat call , attack call , snarl call and copulation call . The alarm call is a harsh scream , and while foraging together common starlings squabble incessantly . They chatter while roosting and bathing , making a great deal of noise that can cause irritation to people living nearby . When a flock of common starlings is flying together , the synchronised movements of the birds ' wings make a distinctive whooshing sound that can be heard hundreds of metres ( yards ) away . |
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23704 = = Behaviour and ecology = = |
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23705 The common starling is a highly gregarious species , especially in autumn and winter . Although flock size is highly variable , huge , noisy flocks - murmurations - may form near roosts . These dense concentrations of birds are thought to be a defence against attacks by birds of prey such as peregrine falcons or Eurasian sparrowhawks . Flocks form a tight sphere @-@ like formation in flight , frequently expanding and contracting and changing shape , seemingly without any sort of leader . Each common starling changes its course and speed as a result of the movement of its closest neighbours . Very large roosts , exceptionally up to 1 @.@ 5 million birds , can form in city centres , woodlands or reedbeds , causing problems with their droppings . These may accumulate up to 30 cm ( 12 in ) deep , killing trees by their concentration of chemicals . In smaller amounts , the droppings act as a fertiliser , and therefore woodland managers may try to move roosts from one area of a wood to another to benefit from the soil enhancement and avoid large toxic deposits . |
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23706 Huge flocks of more than a million common starlings may be observed just before sunset in spring in southwestern Jutland , Denmark over the seaward marshlands of Tønder and Esbjerg municipalities between Tønder and Ribe . They gather in March until northern Scandinavian birds leave for their breeding ranges by mid @-@ April . Their swarm behaviour creates complex shapes silhouetted against the sky , a phenomenon known locally as sort sol ( " black sun " ) . Flocks of anything from five to fifty thousand common starlings form in areas of the UK just before sundown during mid @-@ winter . These flocks are commonly called murmurations . |
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23707 = = = Feeding = = = |
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23708 The common starling is largely insectivorous and feeds on both pest and other arthropods . The food range includes spiders , crane flies , moths , mayflies , dragonflies , damsel flies , grasshoppers , earwigs , lacewings , caddisflies , flies , beetles , sawflies , bees , wasps and ants . Both adults and larvae are consumed and common starlings will also feed on earthworms , snails , small amphibians and lizards . While the consumption of invertebrates is necessary for successful breeding , common starlings are omnivorous and can also eat grains , seeds , fruits , nectar and food waste if the opportunity arises . The Sturnidae differ from most birds in that they cannot easily metabolise foods containing high levels of sucrose , although they can cope with other fruits such as grapes and cherries . The isolated Azores subspecies of the common starling eats the eggs of the endangered roseate tern . Measures are being introduced to reduce common starling populations by culling before the terns return to their breeding colonies in spring . |
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23709 There are several methods by which common starlings obtain their food but for the most part , they forage close to the ground , taking insects from the surface or just underneath . Generally , common starlings prefer foraging amongst short @-@ cropped grasses and are often found among grazing animals or perched on their backs , where they will also feed on the mammal 's external parasites . Large flocks may engage in a practice known as " roller @-@ feeding " , where the birds at the back of the flock continually fly to the front where the feeding opportunities are best . The larger the flock , the nearer individuals are to one another while foraging . Flocks often feed in one place for some time , and return to previous successfully foraged sites . |
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23710 There are three types of foraging behaviour observed in the common starling . " Probing " involves the bird plunging its beak into the ground randomly and repetitively until an insect has been found , and is often accompanied by bill gaping where the bird opens its beak in the soil to enlarge a hole . This behaviour , first described by Konrad Lorenz and given the German term zirkeln , is also used to create and widen holes in plastic garbage bags . It takes time for young common starlings to perfect this technique , and because of this the diet of young birds will often contain fewer insects . " Hawking " is the capture of flying insects directly from the air , and " lunging " is the less common technique of striking forward to catch a moving invertebrate on the ground . Earthworms are caught by pulling from soil . Common starlings that have periods without access to food , or have a reduction in the hours of light available for feeding , compensate by increasing their body mass by the deposition of fat . |
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23711 = = = Nesting = = = |
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23712 Unpaired males find a suitable cavity and begin to build nests in order to attract single females , often decorating the nest with ornaments such as flowers and fresh green material , which the female later disassembles upon accepting him as a mate . The amount of green material is not important , as long as some is present , but the presence of herbs in the decorative material appears to be significant in attracting a mate . The scent of plants such as yarrow acts as an olfactory attractant to females . |
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23713 The males sing throughout much of the construction and even more so when a female approaches his nest . Following copulation , the male and female continue to build the nest . Nests may be in any type of hole , common locations include inside hollowed trees , buildings , tree stumps and man @-@ made nest @-@ boxes . S. v. zetlandicus typically breeds in crevices and holes in cliffs , a habitat only rarely used by the nominate form . Nests are typically made out of straw , dry grass and twigs with an inner lining made up of feathers , wool and soft leaves . Construction usually takes four or five days and may continue through incubation . |
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23714 Common starlings are both monogamous and polygamous ; although broods are generally brought up by one male and one female , occasionally the pair may have an extra helper . Pairs may be part of a colony , in which case several other nests may occupy the same or nearby trees . Males may mate with a second female while the first is still on the nest . The reproductive success of the bird is poorer in the second nest than it is in the primary nest and is better when the male remains monogamous . |
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23715 = = = Breeding = = = |
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23716 Breeding takes place during the spring and summer . Following copulation , the female lays eggs on a daily basis over a period of several days . If an egg is lost during this time , she will lay another to replace it . There are normally four or five eggs that are ovoid in shape and pale blue or occasionally white , and they commonly have a glossy appearance . The colour of the eggs seems to have evolved through the relatively good visibility of blue at low light levels . The egg size is 26 @.@ 5 – 34 @.@ 5 mm ( 1 @.@ 04 – 1 @.@ 36 in ) in length and 20 @.@ 0 – 22 @.@ 5 mm ( 0 @.@ 79 – 0 @.@ 89 in ) in maximum diameter . |
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23717 Incubation lasts thirteen days , although the last egg laid may take 24 hours longer than the first to hatch . Both parents share the responsibility of brooding the eggs , but the female spends more time incubating them than does the male , and is the only parent to do so at night when the male returns to the communal roost . The young are born blind and naked . They develop light fluffy down within seven days of hatching and can see within nine days . Once the chicks are able to regulate their body temperature , about six days after hatching , the adults largely cease removing droppings from the nest . Prior to that , the fouling would wet both the chicks ' plumage and the nest material , thereby reducing their effectiveness as insulation and increasing the risk of chilling the hatchlings . Nestlings remain in the nest for three weeks , where they are fed continuously by both parents . Fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for another one or two weeks . A pair can raise up to three broods per year , frequently reusing and relining the same nest , although two broods is typical , or just one north of 48oN . Within two months , most juveniles will have moulted and gained their first basic plumage . They acquire their adult plumage the following year . As with other passerines , the nest is kept clean and the chicks ' faecal sacs are removed by the adults . |
33.100303649902344 260 WikiText2 |
23718 Intraspecific brood parasites are common in common starling nests . Female " floaters " ( unpaired females during the breeding season ) present in colonies often lay eggs in another pair 's nest . Fledglings have also been reported to invade their own or neighbouring nests and evict a new brood . Common starling nests have a 48 % to 79 % rate of successful fledging , although only 20 % of nestlings survive to breeding age ; the adult survival rate is closer to 60 % . The average life span is about 2 – 3 years , with a longevity record of 22 yr 11 m . |
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23719 = = Predators and parasites = = |
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23720 A majority of starling predators are avian . The typical response of starling groups is to take flight , with a common sight being undulating flocks of starling flying high in quick and agile patterns . Their abilities in flight are seldom matched by birds of prey . Adult common starlings are hunted by hawks such as the northern goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ) and Eurasian sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus ) , and falcons including the peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ) , Eurasian hobby ( Falco subbuteo ) and common kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ) . Slower raptors like black and red kites ( Milvus migrans & milvus ) , eastern imperial eagle ( Aquila heliaca ) , common buzzard ( Buteo buteo ) and Australasian harrier ( Circus approximans ) tend to take the more easily caught fledglings or juveniles . While perched in groups by night , they can be vulnerable to owls , including the little owl ( Athene noctua ) , long @-@ eared owl ( Asio otus ) , short @-@ eared owl ( Asio flammeus ) , barn owl ( Tyto alba ) , tawny owl ( Strix aluco ) and Eurasian eagle @-@ owl ( Bubo bubo ) . |
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23721 More than twenty species of hawk , owl and falcon are known to occasionally predate feral starlings in North America , though the most regular predators of adults are likely to be urban @-@ living peregrine falcons or merlins ( Falco columbarius ) . Common mynas ( Acridotheres tristis ) sometimes evict eggs , nestlings and adult common starlings from their nests , and the lesser honeyguide ( Indicator minor ) , a brood parasite , uses the common starling as a host . Starlings are more commonly the culprits rather than victims of nest eviction however , especially towards other starlings and woodpeckers . Nests can be raided by animals capable of climbing to them , such as stoats ( Mustela erminea ) , raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) and squirrels ( Sciurus spp . ) , and cats may catch the unwary . |
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23722 Common starlings are hosts to a wide range of parasites . A survey of three hundred common starlings from six US states found that all had at least one type of parasite ; 99 % had external fleas , mites or ticks , and 95 % carried internal parasites , mostly various types of worm . Blood @-@ sucking species leave their host when it dies , but other external parasites stay on the corpse . A bird with a deformed bill was heavily infested with Mallophaga lice , presumably due to its inability to remove vermin . |
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23723 The hen flea ( Ceratophyllus gallinae ) is the most common flea in their nests . The small , pale house @-@ sparrow flea C. fringillae , is also occasionally found there and probably arises from the habit of its main host of taking over the nests of other species . This flea does not occur in the US , even on house sparrows . Lice include Menacanthus eurystemus , Brueelia nebulosa and Stumidoecus sturni . Other arthropod parasites include Ixodes ticks and mites such as Analgopsis passerinus , Boydaia stumi , Dermanyssus gallinae , Ornithonyssus bursa , O. sylviarum , Proctophyllodes species , Pteronyssoides truncatus and Trouessartia rosteri . The hen mite D. gallinae is itself preyed upon by the predatory mite Androlaelaps casalis . The presence of this control on numbers of the parasitic species may explain why birds are prepared to reuse old nests . |
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23724 Flying insects that parasitise common starlings include the louse @-@ fly Omithomya nigricornis and the saprophagous fly Camus hemapterus . The latter species breaks off the feathers of its host and lives on the fats produced by growing plumage . Larvae of the moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella are nest scavengers , which feed on animal material such as faeces or dead nestlings . Protozoan blood parasites of the genus Haemoproteus have been found in common starlings , but a better known pest is the brilliant scarlet nematode Syngamus trachea . This worm moves from the lungs to the trachea and may cause its host to suffocate . In Britain , the rook and the common starling are the most infested wild birds . Other recorded internal parasites include the spiny @-@ headed worm Prosthorhynchus transverses . |
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23725 Common starlings may contract avian tuberculosis , avian malaria and retrovirus @-@ induced lymphomas . Captive starlings often accumulate excess iron in the liver , a condition that can be prevented by adding black tea @-@ leaves to the food . |
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23726 = = Distribution and habitat = = |
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23727 The global population of common starlings was estimated to be 310 million individuals in 2004 , occupying a total area of 8 @,@ 870 @,@ 000 km2 ( 3 @,@ 420 @,@ 000 sq mi ) . Widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere , the bird is native to Eurasia and is found throughout Europe , northern Africa ( from Morocco to Egypt ) , India ( mainly in the north but regularly extending further south and extending into the Maldives ) Nepal , the Middle East including Syria , Iran , and Iraq and north @-@ western China . |
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23728 Common starlings in the south and west of Europe and south of latitude 40oN are mainly resident , although other populations migrate from regions where the winter is harsh , the ground frozen and food scarce . Large numbers of birds from northern Europe , Russia and Ukraine migrate south westwards or south eastwards . In the autumn , when immigrants are arriving from eastern Europe , many of Britain 's common starlings are setting off for Iberia and North Africa . Other groups of birds are in passage across the country and the pathways of these different streams of bird may cross . Of the 15 @,@ 000 birds ringed as nestlings in Merseyside , England , individuals have been recovered at various times of year as far afield as Norway , Sweden , Finland , Russia , Ukraine , Poland , Germany and the Low Countries . Small numbers of common starling have sporadically been observed in Japan and Hong Kong but it is unclear from where these birds originated . In North America , northern populations have developed a migration pattern , vacating much of Canada in winter . Birds in the east of the country move southwards , and those from further west winter in the southwest of the US . |
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23729 Common starlings prefer urban or suburban areas where artificial structures and trees provide adequate nesting and roosting sites . Reedbeds are also favoured for roosting and the birds commonly feed in grassy areas such as farmland , grazing pastures , playing fields , golf courses and airfields where short grass makes foraging easy . They occasionally inhabit open forests and woodlands and are sometimes found in shrubby areas such as Australian heathland . Common starlings rarely inhabit dense , wet forests ( i.e. rainforests or wet sclerophyll forests ) but are found in coastal areas , where they nest and roost on cliffs and forage amongst seaweed . Their ability to adapt to a large variety of habitats has allowed them to disperse and establish themselves in diverse locations around the world resulting in a habitat range from coastal wetlands to alpine forests , from sea cliffs to mountain ranges 1 @,@ 900 m ( 6 @,@ 200 ft ) above sea level . |
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23730 = = = Introduced populations = = = |
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23731 The common starling has been introduced to and has successfully established itself in New Zealand , Australia , South Africa , North America , Fiji and several Caribbean islands . As a result , it has also been able to migrate to Thailand , Southeast Asia and New Guinea . |
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23732 = = = = South America = = = = |
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23733 Five individuals conveyed on a ship from England alighted near Lago de Maracaibo in Venezuela in November 1949 , but subsequently vanished . In 1987 , a small population of common starlings was observed nesting in gardens in the city of Buenos Aires . Since then , despite some initial attempts at eradication , the bird has been expanding its breeding range at an average rate of 7 @.@ 5 km ( 4 @.@ 7 mi ) per year , keeping within 30 km ( 19 mi ) of the Atlantic coast . In Argentina , the species makes use of a variety of natural and man @-@ made nesting sites , particularly woodpecker holes . |
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23734 = = = = Australia = = = = |
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23735 The common starling was introduced to Australia to consume insect pests of farm crops . Early settlers looked forward to their arrival , believing that common starlings were also important for the pollination of flax , a major agricultural product . Nest @-@ boxes for the newly released birds were placed on farms and near crops . The common starling was introduced to Melbourne in 1857 and Sydney two decades later . By the 1880s , established populations were present in the southeast of the country thanks to the work of acclimatisation committees . By the 1920s , common starlings were widespread throughout Victoria , Queensland and New South Wales , but by then they were considered to be pests . Although common starlings were first sighted in Albany , Western Australia in 1917 , they have been largely prevented from spreading to the state . The wide and arid Nullarbor Plain provides a natural barrier and control measures have been adopted that have killed 55 @,@ 000 birds over three decades . The common starling has also colonised Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island . |
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23736 = = = = New Zealand = = = = |
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23737 The early settlers in New Zealand cleared the bush and found their newly planted crops were invaded by hordes of caterpillars and other insects deprived of their previous food sources . Native birds were not habituated to living in close proximity to man so the common starling was introduced from Europe to control the pests . It was first brought over in 1862 by the Nelson Acclimatisation Society and other introductions followed . The birds soon became established and are now found all over the country including the subtropical Kermadec Islands to the north and the equally distant Macquarie Island far to the south . |
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23738 = = = = North America = = = = |
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23739 After two failed attempts , about 60 common starlings were released in 1890 into New York 's Central Park by Eugene Schieffelin . He was president of the American Acclimatization Society , which tried to introduce every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare into North America . About the same date , the Portland Song Bird Club released 35 pairs of common starlings in Portland , Oregon . These birds became established but disappeared around 1902 . Common starlings reappeared in the Pacific Northwest in the mid @-@ 1940s and these birds were probably descendants of the 1890 Central Park introduction . The original 60 birds have since swelled in number to 150 million , occupying an area extending from southern Canada and Alaska to Central America . |
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23740 = = = = Polynesia = = = = |
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23741 The common starling appears to have arrived in Fiji in 1925 on Ono @-@ i @-@ lau and Vatoa islands . It may have colonised from New Zealand via Raoul in the Kermadec Islands where it is abundant , that group being roughly equidistant between New Zealand and Fiji . Its spread in Fiji has been limited , and there are doubts about the population 's viability . Tonga was colonised at about the same date and the birds there have been slowly spreading north through the group . |
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23742 = = = = South Africa = = = = |
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23743 In South Africa , the common starling was introduced in 1897 by Cecil Rhodes . It spread slowly and by 1954 had reached Clanwilliam and Port Elizabeth . It is now common in the southern Cape region , thinning out northwards to the Johannesburg area . It is present in the Western Cape , the Eastern Cape and the Free State provinces of South Africa and lowland Lesotho , with occasional sightings in KwaZulu @-@ Natal , Gauteng and around the town of Oranjemund in Namibia . In Southern Africa populations appear to be resident and the bird is very much associated with man , his habitations and pastures . It favours irrigated land and is absent from regions where the ground is baked so dry that it cannot probe for insects . It may compete with native birds for crevice nesting sites but the indigenous species are probably more disadvantaged by destruction of their natural habitat than they are by inter @-@ specific competition . It breeds from September to December and outside the breeding season may congregate in large flocks , often roosting in reedbeds . It is the most common bird species in urban and agricultural areas . |
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23744 = = = = West Indies = = = = |
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23745 The common starling was introduced to Jamaica in 1903 , and the Bahamas and Cuba were colonised naturally from the US . This bird is fairly common but local in Jamaica , Grand Bahama and Bimini , and is rare in the rest of the Bahamas , eastern Cuba , the Cayman Islands , Puerto Rico and St. Croix . |
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23746 = = Status = = |
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23747 The global population of the common starling is estimated to be more than 310 million individuals and its numbers are not thought to be declining significantly , so the bird is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern . It had shown a marked increase in numbers throughout Europe from the 19th century to around the 1950s and 60s . In about 1830 , S. v. vulgaris expanded its range in the British Isles , spreading into Ireland and areas of Scotland where it had formerly been absent , although S. v. zetlandicus was already present in Shetland and the Outer Hebrides . The common starling has bred in northern Sweden from 1850 and in Iceland from 1935 . The breeding range spread through southern France to northeastern Spain , and there were other range expansions particularly in Italy , Austria and Finland . It started breeding in Iberia in 1960 , while the spotless starling 's range had been expanding northward since the 1950s . The low rate of advance , about 4 @.@ 7 km ( 2 @.@ 9 mi ) per year for both species , is due to the suboptimal mountain and woodland terrain . Expansion has since slowed even further due to direct competition between the two similar species where they overlap in southwestern France and northwestern Spain . |
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23748 Major declines in populations have been observed from 1980 onward in Sweden , Finland , northern Russia ( Karelia ) and the Baltic States , and smaller declines in much of the rest of northern and central Europe . The bird has been adversely affected in these areas by intensive agriculture , and in several countries it has been red @-@ listed due to population declines of more than 50 % . Numbers dwindled in the United Kingdom by more than 80 % between 1966 and 2004 ; although populations in some areas such as Northern Ireland were stable or even increased , those in other areas , mainly England , declined even more sharply . The overall decline seems to be due to the low survival rate of young birds , which may be caused by changes in agricultural practices . The intensive farming methods used in northern Europe mean there is less pasture and meadow habitat available , and the supply of grassland invertebrates needed for the nestlings to thrive is correspondingly reduced . |
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23749 = = Relationship with humans = = |
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