Facts: Starling
Appearance: European Starlings are small, muscular birds that average 18 to 24 centimeters in length. Their bodies are dark in color, with an iridescent sheen and white or yellow speckles. They are generally distinguished from other blackbirds by their long and narrow bills and short, stubby tails. During the summer months Starlings coats become a duller finish and have fewer speckles.
Habit: Starlings are well known for their aggressive behavior towards other birds. They often flock in huge numbers, sometimes in the tens of thousands, and use their numbers to force native birds out of their homes. This has caused concern among environmentalists and the US Department of Agriculture who fear that the abundance of these birds limits and restricts other native bird species from thriving. Starlings are also well adapted to living in urban areas where food sources are plentiful.
Health/Damage Concerns: Starlings, like most birds, can cause extensive damage to homes and commercial buildings. Nests are often found in hard to reach places like gutters, under roof eaves, and inside of buildings. The droppings of the Starling are also high in uric acid content causing both cosmetic and structural damages to a variety of building types. Often these droppings will remove or permanently stain paint, stain siding, and damage roofing shingles. Nests found in building gutters have been directly linked to extensive water damage over time, and nest created inside of buildings and machinery have been linked to electrical fires and equipment damage. Their presence also poses health risks from bacteria, fungus spores, and fecal parasites.
Diet: Various food sources; they eat a wide variety of foods including insects, berries, seeds, fruits, and human scraps.
Reproduction: Two broods per year, with an average of four to five eggs per brood. The incubation period for European Starlings is short, only lasting twelve days with young leaving the nest only three to four weeks after hatching. Starlings mate during the spring months.
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