The European starling is one of the most numerous and successful bird species in the world. It was introduced to North America in the late 1800s and is now among the most abundant bird species there. Starlings are adaptable omnivores that eat a variety of plants, insects, and other small animals. They flock together for protection from predators like cats and falcons. Though they provide a food source for some predators and eat agricultural pests, starlings also damage crops and outcompete native bird species when introduced elsewhere. They breed from March to July in most of their range, laying multiple clutches of 3-5 eggs per season.

1. European Starling
Cleiver Ricardo Coello Gonzalez
1st grade B

2. History of Invasion
The European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is one of the world’s most numerous
and successful birds in the world. The European Starling is a species of
temperate regions and has a wide breeding range extending from western
Europe to central Asia, and from Iceland to northern India. In addition, the
starling has been introduced to New Zealand, Fiji, southern Australia, South
Africa, Jamaica, and North America. Starlings are now among the most
abundant species of birds in North America. Few birds can match this success.

3. Habitat
The European Starling is a bird of lowlands, found mainly on non-mountainous terrain.
During breeding season, these birds require holes for nesting, as well as fields of
vegetation for feeding. For the remainder of the year, the starling utilizes a larger
range of habitats, from open moorland to salt marshes. The usual nesting sites are
holes and crevices in trees, buildings, and rooftops. Starlings too plunder on other
bird´s nests and use them as their own.

4. Scientific Name
Sturnus
vulgaris (Linneaus)
Classification:
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae

5. Physical Description
Adult starling males and females mature to a length of about 21.5 centimeters (8.5 inches)
and weigh between 2.5 and 3.5 ounces. Both males and females have similar iridescent
green glossed feathers covering the back, nape, and breast.
The black wings are occasionally seen with a veneer of green and purple. In winter when
the tips of the feathers have eroded away, a white or cream colored "flecking" appears
against a dusky black background, primarily on the breast. This accounts for the non-
breeding plumage of the adult birds.
The shape of these feathers is rounded at the base and jagged toward the tip. Both sexes
also share similarities in leg color (reddish brown), iris color (dark brown), and in the
seasonal changes in bill color (yellow during mating season, otherwise black).

6. Food Habits
• Primary Diet
• omnivore
• Animal Foods
• carrion
• insects
• terrestrial non-insect arthropods
• terrestrial worms
• Plant Foods
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

7. Predation
European starlings typically congregate in large groups called flocks, except during the breeding
season. Flocking together helps protect them from predators by increasing the number of birds
that can watch for predators. Birds in the flock quickly warn others about the approach of a
predator.
•Known Predators
falcons (Falconidae)
domestic cats (Felis silvestris)

8. Ecosystem Roles
The abundance of European starlings makes them an
important prey base for many small predators. European
starlings are able to reproduce and invade new areas
rapidly because they have many babies each year and
because they can use a variety of foods and habitats.
This also means that they can have large impacts on
seed and fruit crops and insect populations. In areas
where they are non-native they can displace the native
species of birds that typically play these roles.

9. Economic Importance for
humans: Positive
The starling is beneficial to our environment because it regulates
the number of pests that threaten our agriculture. Starlings work
indirectly to reduce numbers of the major insects that damage
farm crops. Furthermore, the European starling is also beneficial
as a food source for some cultures along the Mediterranean Sea.
(Weber 1980; Craig and Feare 1999; "World Book Online" 2000).

10. Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
For the most part, the European Starling is a
nemesis to the environment and especially to
farmers. The most common problem caused by
starlings are damage to crops and berries. When
these birds are not eating pests, they in turn
become pests and destroy farmers' crops.
Another negative impact is driving out
competitors
•Negative Impacts
•injures humans
carries human disease
•crop pest
•causes or carries domestic animal disease
•household pest

11. Lifespan/Longevity
The chicks, born blind, deaf and
helpless, are fed exclusively soft
foods for the first few days, with the
parents widening the variety as they
grow older. The chicks fledge after 21-
23 days, but the parents go on feeding
them for some time. They reach
sexual maturity when they are 1 year
old.
Common starlings live for up to 15
years in the wild.

12. Mating & reproduction
For common starlings that inhabit the Northern Hemisphere, the
breeding season occurs from late March through early July while for
those in the Southern Hemisphere it is from September to December,
although the length of the season varies each year in both
hemispheres. The breeding is divided into three phases, with a clutch
as a result of each. The second and third clutches are results of the
European starling’s polygyny. The males start making a nest during
the breeding season, and it is finished by the female. The eggs are
shiny white and light blue. Incubation, which lasts for around 11 days,
is done by both parents. The majority of the incubation, however, is
done by the female

13. Bibliography
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-
burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Sturnus_v
ulgaris.html
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/St
urnus_vulgaris/#:~:text=Habitat,open
%20moorland%20to%20salt%20mars
hes.
https://www.animalspot.net/eur
opean-starling.html