Birds of Birdland: The Starling

The Starling is a medium to small sized bird that are found in the wild in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and across the tropical Pacific. Several of these species have been introduced into the wild in North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand where they have thrived and compete with the other birds in that area for the natural habitats that they need. It is due to this that they are considered to be an invasive species, but that doesn't take away from how pretty they are and how fun they can be to watch.

Starlings are a very social bird and therefore like to live in larger, social families. Most of them will stay with flocks that vary in size throughout the year and these flocks can even include species from other families in the. It is this sociality that is fun to watch when they interact with other bird species as well as when they are roosting.

They love to eat fruits, nectar, and insects and many Starlings are key to helping disperse seeds throughout Asia and Africa, especially when it comes to tree seeds as well as parasites. Some scientists have studied the Starling eating fermenting, over-ripened fruit, which has led them to believe that they actually might become intoxicated by the alcohol in the fruit. This prompted to study how Starlings might break down the alcohol in their systems, and they found that they have disposal enzymes that helps them to break down the alcohol extremely quickly.

Although there are many types of Starlings today, there is one that is now extinct, called the Mascarene starlings. Only one of their species is known from specimens that were taken while the bird was still in existance, others are known from remains of subfossil bones and one very early traveler's description.

For those that love to bird watch at home or while on hikes or out in nature anywhere, Starlings can be an extremely fun bird to watch. Since they are so closely related to Myna birds and they are very intelligent, they can be very inquisitive and love to explore things. Building a Starling house in your back yard can also help to attract them so that you can watch them socialize, breed, and raise their young right at your side.