The European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, (or Common Starling) is native to Europe and Asia, and has been introduced in many other places. In the nineteenth century a number of deliberate attempts to introduce the bird to North America failed, but people kept trying. Finally, Shakespeare enthusiasts with the romantic idea of endowing North America with all of the bird species mentioned by the famous bard released a total of one hundred European Starlings in New York in 1890 and 1891.
The introduction was unwise but spectacularly successful. By 1925, European Starlings were a common occurrence in southeastern Canada, and today they flock throughout the continent except in the far north. The North American starling population, estimated at over 200 million, is double the estimate for Europe (45 to 110 million), and the species is considered by many to be a pest bird. Flocks live primarily near human communities, forage in open grassy areas, and compete with native bird species for nests. Flocks of 100 thousand individuals have been known. During the breeding season, any opening in a building or other structure is a welcome sign for starlings.
European Starling Nests
European Starlings are cavity nesters. They choose holes in trees and cliffs, burrows, nest boxes, the interior of street lights, dryer and stove vents, and any sheltered cavity in a building. Starlings compete with other cavity nesters, such as woodpeckers, cavity nesting ducks, swallows, and bluebirds for nest sites:
- Before mating, the male bird builds the nest, using plenty of dried grass, pine needles and other vegetation, feathers, and bits of cloth or other garbage. The nest is complete in one to three days.
- The female inspects the nest and fine tunes it.
- Both parents participate in incubating the clutch of three to six eggs, which hatch in less than two weeks.
- The young are helpless at hatching, but they grow quickly and fledge in about three weeks.
If the first clutch fails, a pair of starlings will immediately try again, but nesting is generally over by late June.
European Starlings – the Good and the Bad
Hundreds of thousands of nuisance starlings are deliberately killed every year, particularly to control the amount of damage they do to crops and livestock operations. They do have their good points however.
The good:
- Starlings eat lots of insects and other invertebrates. They use their beaks to pry apart grass in search of food.
- They are striking birds, with white spots late in the summer and iridescent shades of blue, green and purple.
- They are wonderful flyers, with whole flocks moving close together and in perfect synchrony with each other. Their precision can be quite breathtaking.
- In some areas, European Starlings are an important food source for birds of prey, some of which are threatened and/or recovering species.
The bad:
- Starlings are noisy, messy, and sometimes destructive birds. They build nests inside houses and other structures, raid bird feeders, and foul property with droppings.
- Large flocks of starlings in farming areas visit stores of cattle feed and fruit crops, stealing what they can and contaminating what they leave behind.
- Starlings take nesting sites from native cavity nesting birds. (Though this probably contributes to a decline in some native species, research suggests that most do fairly well in spite of it.)
- Flocks of starlings around airports create a safety hazard for planes.
Keep Starlings Away
The key to deterring starlings is to give them nothing to eat and nowhere to nest:
- Don’t leave grains or animal feed out in the open, including dog food.
- Avoid bird feed with corn and grain in it.
- Cover fruit trees with bird netting if possible.
- Use bird feeders that starlings find difficult to access: tube feeders with short perches and suet feeders that require the bird to hang upside down are good choices.
- Use mock birds of prey: plastic owls and helium balloons have worked for some people.
- Frighten them away with noise. Clanging pot lids, tape recordings of hawk cries, or artificial gunshots are recommended.
- Inspect buildings regularly and repair any openings that might allow starlings entry.
- Use bird-proof vent covers or wire mesh to cover any openings that can’t be sealed.
If starlings succeed in nesting where they’re not wanted, please don’t resort to cruel measures like sealing off the nest with young inside. When fledglings have left, make any necessary repairs so the birds can’t return next year.
Sources
“European Starling.” Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds
“European Starling.” Tufts, Robie W. Birds of Nova Scotia
Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Perrins, Christopher ed. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2003
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