European Starling

Sturnus vulgarisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Starling (Sturnidae)

Codes: Common Name: EUST Scientific Name: STUVUL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179637

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes, Grassland with scattered trees, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Loose colonies

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Pale blue or green, sometimes marked with brown

Number of Eggs:

4 - 8

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Grass, twigs, forbs, rootlets, and straw.

Migration:

Northern birds migrate

General

European Starling: Small, chunky, iridescent purple and green blackbird with long, pointed yellow bill, pink legs, and short tail. Feathers on back and undertail show buff edges. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is black with white spots and dark bill. Juvenile is uniformly dull gray-brown with dark bill. Introduced from Europe.

Range and Habitat

European Starling: Native to Eurasia, but widely introduced worldwide. Occurs from Alaska and Quebec south throughout the continent to the Gulf coast and northern Mexico. Preferred habitats include cities, suburban areas, farmlands, and ranches.

Breeding and Nesting

European Starling: Four to eight pale blue or green eggs, sometimes marked with brown, are laid in a nest made of twigs, grass, forbs, straw, and trash. Nest is lined built in a natural hollow of a tree, bird box, building crevice, or abandoned woodpecker hole. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days.

Foraging and Feeding

European Starling: Eats seeds, insects, small vertebrates, centipedes, spiders, earthworms, plants, and fruits; commonly takes food discarded by humans.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Nut Meats, Suet, Millet, Commercial Mixed Bird Seed

Vocalization

European Starling: Emits a series of discordant, musical, squeaky, and rasping notes; often imitates other birds. Call is a descending "whee-ee".

Similar Species

European Starling: Blackbirds, cowbirds and grackles have longer tails, slimmer bodies, dark bills, and lack white spots on head and body.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

European Starling

European Starling: Small, chunky, iridescent purple and green blackbird with long, pointed yellow bill, pink legs, and short tail. The feathers on back and undertail show buff edges. Feeds in open areas, normally on the ground. Strong, direct and swift flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Song: "pheeEW"

● Foraging & Feeding: European Starling: Eats seeds, insects, small vertebrates, centipedes, spiders, earthworms, plants, and fruits; commonly takes food discarded by humans.

● Breeding & nesting: European Starling: Four to eight pale blue or green eggs, sometimes marked with brown, are laid in a nest made of twigs, grass, forbs, straw, and trash. Nest is lined built in a natural hollow of a tree, bird box, building crevice, or abandoned woodpecker hole. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days.

● Similar species: European Starling: Blackbirds, cowbirds and grackles have longer tails, slimmer bodies, dark bills, and lack white spots on head and body.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

European Starling Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: European Starling: Native to Eurasia, but widely introduced worldwide. Occurs from Alaska and Quebec south throughout the continent to the Gulf coast and northern Mexico. Preferred habitats include cities, suburban areas, farmlands, and ranches.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies

^Population

^MigrationNorthern birds migrate

^Weight3 Ounces

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America