When do starlings hatch? Starling is a migratory bird

Urbanization, deforestation, and industrial development are increasingly affecting the starlings' habitat. It seems that the spring appearance of these seemingly inexpressive birds is as inevitable as the melting of snow, but recent research by experts is extremely alarming. Widespread industrialization is driving many species of songbirds out of cities, causing a rapid decline in starling populations.

The coloration of starlings deserves special attention, because it changes depending on the age of the birds and the onset of the mating season.

Task modern man– protect the habitat of migratory birds so that they return again and again, announcing with their trills the arrival of warmth.

Despite the decline in population, the range of residence of starlings is very wide

Variegated inhabitants of birch groves

Almost everyone in childhood made birdhouses and nailed them to tree trunks, but not everyone knows what a starling actually looks like. This was facilitated by the birds’ amazing ability to change color throughout the year and the similarity in appearance with blackbirds.

Starlings are medium-sized birds, the body length of which, depending on the species, ranges from 18 to 22 cm. Weight is about 100 g. The body is dense, elongated, the head is small, slightly compressed at the sides. Individuals have a smooth, strong, elongated beak with a pointed and slightly flattened tip.

Adult starlings have wide wings at the base and tapering towards the ends with a span of up to 40 cm, a straight short tail covered with lower covert feathers, strong legs with long claws. Young animals that have not matured to molt have wings rounded at the ends. Chicks are not distinguished by such brilliant plumage as mature individuals.

The coloration of starlings deserves special attention, because it changes depending on the age of the birds and the onset of the mating season. Males and females of most species have dark, black-brown or brownish plumage with a pronounced metallic sheen. With the onset of cold weather, noticeable cream or white spots appear on the surface of the feathers (large ones on the chest and wings and small ones on the head). The specks disappear after the spring molt.

Classification

Genus: starlings

Family: starlings

Squad: passerines

Class: birds

Type: chordates

Kingdom: animals

Dimensions: body length 18-22 cm, wingspan 39 cm, weight up to 75 g

Lifespan: 12 years old

At first glance at the starling, it seems that this bird is rather clumsy: its short neck, slightly elongated massive body and thick legs do not give it much grace. But, of course, such an impression is deceptive. The nimble starling is on the move all day.

Appearance

A starling weighing as much as chicken egg, has fairly thick plumage, black with a slight metallic tint:

• on the head, chest and craw the feathers are sharper; the longest are the first and second flight feathers on the wings;
• closer to autumn, the tips of the feathers wear off slightly, the body becomes covered with white specks, slightly larger on the breast, and the bird becomes piebald; in the spring after molting, the starling's plumage turns brown, and by summer it turns black again;
• the color of young birds lacks the characteristic metallic sheen; their feathers are matte brown in color, and darken only with age;
• some species of starlings may have feathers with a greenish, purple, blue or bronze tint;

The color of the starling is very interesting and changes throughout the year.

• Starlings' wings are quite short and wider at the base; the tail, straight cut at the end, is also small: its length is 6.2-6.8 cm;
• leg color reddish brown; chicks have more rounded and less sharp wings;
• unlike black ones, which they resemble in appearance, starlings do not jump on the ground, but walk, looking for food in the ground;
• the female has less intense coloring; There are also differences in the shape of the feathers: according to ornithologists’ descriptions, on the female’s chest they are slightly shorter; the beak of the male is blue at the base, while that of the females is reddish-mottled;
• starling eggs have a bluish-green tint, although their color is different types may vary slightly.

Starlings' wings are quite short and wider at the base.

Advice! It is not difficult to determine when the chicks will appear soon. The long, slightly bent downward and laterally flattened beak of this bird is capable of changing color. In normal times, it has a black color (brownish in growing chicks), but in the spring, at the onset of the mating season, it turns yellow.

Habitat

Starlings are found almost everywhere. They can be found among and in the southwestern part of Siberia, Transbaikalia, Central Asia, Europe, India and even in Africa.

These birds do not like to climb high into the mountains and nest only on plains, swamps, salt marshes and steppes, where there is enough food. Very often they settle near human habitations, farms and plowed lands.

They fly away for the winter only from northern regions. In southern and western countries, starlings lead a sedentary lifestyle. For example, only 20% winter in the Netherlands, while the rest fly to England, France or Belgium for the winter.

You can read about other birds that fly away in autumn in the article

It is noticed that in recent years Birds from the northern regions of Russia no longer fly to their traditional wintering grounds, but stop a little closer to home. This is probably due to global warming.

Departure for the winter

Starlings winter in both Central and Southern Europe, as well as in Asia, India and North Africa. Obeying instinct, they annually strive again to the place where they were born and first saw sunlight. In this they are very similar to.

Sometimes starlings have to fly over 3 thousand miles, including over the Mediterranean and Black seas. They can cover up to 80 miles per hour, making only 2-3 stops a day.

According to eyewitnesses' descriptions, when meeting sea vessels, these birds seek protection from people and descend in clouds onto the decks. After all, during hurricanes the entire flock can die.

According to old legends, ships on which at least one bird was killed seeking shelter are in danger of imminent death.

Interesting! The departure time of starlings coincides with the beginning of September, although in warmer regions this time may shift to mid-October.

These birds return to their homeland quite early. The first time after arrival, starlings, like starlings, stay in flocks. Their arrival is a special sight.

One flock can contain several thousand birds. Flying high in the sky, they make synchronized movements. You can see what these celestial acrobats look like in the photo below.

flock of starlings

According to the description of ornithologists, in all species of starlings the scout males are the first to return. The females arrive a little later, about a week later, at a time when their partners have already chosen nesting sites.

If the male looking after the nest fails to find a mate in time, he is left alone.

Interesting! After the chicks of the second clutch leave the nests, the starlings gather in flocks again. They can spend the night on several nearby trees. Moreover, starlings perfectly sense any weather changes. If they gather in small flocks and begin to “lead” round dances, it’s bad weather.

Types of starlings

In Russia there are five of the existing twelve species of starlings. The most common starling is the common starling (sometimes called the shpak). In addition to this, in our country there are pink, gray, small and Japanese.

The Caucasus and Persia have their own variety: the sedentary Caucasian, whose appearance is very reminiscent of shpak.

The pink starling (you can see what it looks like in the photo below), living in Europe and Asia, is distinguished from its relatives by a long crest and a pink breast. The head, wings and tail are black with a greenish-steel tint. The eggs of this species of starling are pale gray and unremarkable.

Just like shpaki, pink starlings are social birds– They nest and migrate only in colonies. Sometimes they can even flock with other birds: sparrows, crows, or mynas.

Starling pink

The amethyst species of starlings is distinguished not only by its very unusual color (their iridescent feathers shimmer in all shades of lilac and purple) but also by its shorter tail.

Unlike the shpak and pink starling, amethyst individuals can rarely be seen on the ground - they spend their entire lives in trees.

Amethyst starling

Japanese red-cheeked starlings, living in Russia mainly on Sakhalin and the Kuril Nature Reserve, are a rather rare species. They are named red-cheeked because of the rusty-red spots located near the eyes.

Their upper tail is also painted the same color. Another external difference is the pronounced white stripe on the wings. The female differs slightly from the male only in being lighter in color.

Unusual and appearance the dragging or buffalo-headed starling, found only in Africa. Its wide, bright beak is slightly bent at the top and rounded at the base.

This bird lives near large ungulates and feeds on insects, which it pecks from their skins. A starling can remain on the back of its cloven-hoofed feeder for hours.

Volokluy, or buffalo starling

The Lesser Starling, a resident of the Far East, is distinguished by small sizes(it is almost half the size of the usual one) and the color is lighter compared to spackle. There are white stripes on the sides of the back and white and yellow stripes on the wings.

Bali starlings are the rarest species of these birds. The first individual of this species was described only in 1910. This Asian beauty from the island of Bali has almost completely white plumage.

The muslin whiteness is emphasized only by a few black tail and flight feathers and an unusual bluish ring around the eyes. Nature has awarded the Balinese starling with an elegant white crest. The beauty of this bird rivals that of a parrot!

Bali starling

Reproduction

The lifespan of all starling species is on average 12 years. During this time, they are able to produce enough offspring.

According to the description of ornithologists, the usual clutch consists of 3-6 evenly colored bluish-green glossy eggs. One female can lay 1-2 clutches per year in April and June. You can see what starling eggs look like in the next photo.

Starling eggs

"Marriages" of starlings can last for many years. Upon arrival from wintering, the flocks break up into pairs, each of which looks for a nesting site.

They can build their nests in any place where there are voids: tree hollows, under the roofs of houses, and even in wall holes, rock crevices and burrows. Birds and birdhouses willingly populate.

Starlings can become serious competitors for many species. If the nests are already occupied by sparrows before their arrival, they quickly drive away the uninvited residents.

All species of starlings carefully watch their offspring. The duty of the bird on duty is to protect starling eggs from bloodthirsty predators. It is enough to appear on the horizon for a cat or, as at a signal from such a watchman, the entire starling tribe flocks to help.

The offspring are mainly hatched by the female, but her partner may well replace her during meals. Hatching of eggs in starlings lasts 12-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents.

At first, young starlings look like true gluttons: it seems that they consist only of a huge yellow beak. All day long, tireless parents collect food for them: insects, worms, and caterpillars.

Feeding chicks

But after 3 weeks, the young offspring grow up and leave the nest. Since at first the starlings do not yet know how to fly, but only flutter from branch to branch, they continue to be fed, but only by the male.

Exactly a week later, the chicks are already able to get their own food. By that time, the female can lay a second clutch.

The male’s responsibilities include entertaining the female in the mornings and evenings and performing serenades for her. By the way, it was during this period that harsh sounds completely disappear from their songs, and they become very gentle and melodic.

Chants

As soon as the air warms up a little in the morning, these birds sit on high branches and begin their entertaining concert. The fact is that all types of starlings are mockingbirds and are able to imitate any tune of their relatives.

Starling singing

Their song is a whole set of melodies, consisting of nightingale tunes, the sharp sounds of orioles, the subtle whistling of tits, the ringing beat of a stork, and even the croaking of frogs or meowing.

However, birds are able to repeat any sounds heard near the nest: the croaking of frogs, meowing, or even the creaking of a saw or cart.

In captivity, even young individuals quickly begin to imitate human voices, like parrots or. Ornithologists believe that they also have their own motive - a long, sharp whistle, which is innate.

Advice! It is quite easy to tame a starling. If you throw worms or crumbs to a bird, after a while it will fearlessly take food directly from your hands.

Nutrition

The starling, unlike swallows or nuthatches, rarely obtains food on the fly. Its food is found mainly on the ground. The bird is on the move all day, for example, as in the next photo.

After all, it is estimated that during the summer it is capable of exterminating insects harmful to the garden and garden 1000 times its weight! The daily weight of food exceeds the weight of the bird by 2-2.5 times.

In spring, these birds feed mainly on insects

Starlings catch especially many of these pests during the period of laying eggs and feeding the chicks. It is estimated that parents fly to the nest 198 times a day. Their working day lasts at least 17 hours. The “hunting grounds” of this bird species extend to a distance of more than 500 m from the nest.

Of course, their diet also includes some beneficial types of insects: garden worms, ladybugs. But their main source of food is species living close to the soil surface: wireworms, mole crickets, slugs, and May beetles.

In summer, the diet of starlings changes. The soil is covered with vegetation, and it becomes more difficult to get insects from the ground, so birds begin to eat grasshoppers, butterflies, and also eat seeds and fruits with pleasure.

Starling performing a serenade

Starling: The True Herald of Spring

The first starlings arrive long before the onset of warm weather. Their sonorous songs, more like chirping, are rightfully considered the first harbingers of spring.

Skvortsov. The body length is about 23 cm, and the weight is about 75 g. Due to the short neck and massive body, the impression of clumsiness is created. His legs are strong and big

curved claws. The beak is long, thin, yellow, slightly drooping downwards. The tail is shortened and straight. The color of the feathers in spring is black with a metallic sheen. The bird, whose plumage description depends on the season, becomes black with white speckles by autumn.

Almost everyone has known about the benefits of the common starling, which was discussed above, since childhood. In the spring, they walk through fields, parks and gardens, looking for and eating insects and larvae. In summer they feed on caterpillars and beetles, and during the period of feeding chicks they fly to the nest about 300 times a day, bringing several beetles each time.

The common starling is a migratory bird, flying to warm countries for the winter, usually to northern Africa or southern Europe. After such travels, various “potpourri” appear in the repertoire of this singing bird, including “African melodies” borrowed from wintering birds.

Many people associate the starling with the birdhouse, but it makes its nests in hollows in trees. But finding them can be difficult. But a person wants to place this useful bird closer to him, so he installs birdhouses. And her “work” is always near human habitation.

Except ordinary type, an interesting representative of this family is a bird that fully lives up to its name. It settles near steppes, desert or semi-desert plains, as it feeds mainly on locusts. Of course, if it is not there, it can eat other insects. But the locusts are the main thing. For her sake, he is able to fly a long distance. A pink starling can eat up to 200 grams of locusts (twice its weight) in a day. The bird feeds its offspring with it.

These birds move in dense flocks. From a distance it looks like some kind of pink cloud. Having fallen to the ground, they continue to move in one direction,

collecting and eating insects as they run. The pink starling is a peace-loving bird; fights and quarrels do not arise between them. They live in colonies of several hundred pairs. Nests are made in rock crevices, in various burrows, between stones.

This family also includes the catkin starling, a bird that is only similar in size to its relatives and lives exclusively in Africa. The adjective in the name comes from the fact that during the breeding season, males develop fleshy growths on their heads that resemble earrings. They build nests in trees, not in hollows, using a lot of dry twigs, creating a dome-shaped structure. There can be many such “houses” on one plant, because This bird is also colonial. The catkin starling feeds exclusively on locusts. The bird even hatches its chicks at a time when these insects stop moving and stop to reproduce. With the resumption of locust movement, the birds move from their place and follow it.

Starlings are so different, but they are all, of course, useful for humans. Some peoples even consider it a crime to kill this wonderful bird.

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Squad Passeriformes- Passeriformes, Family Starlings- Stumidae, Genus Starlings - Sturnus

Appearance. A short-tailed, shiny black bird about the size of blackbird, in autumn and winter with frequent white speckles. By spring, the light tips of the feathers wear off and the speckles disappear. Young birds are dark brown with a light throat. A typical running bird, unlike, for example, blackbirds that move by jumping. The flight is straight.
The song consists of whistles, creaks, imitations of other birds and various noises. Sometimes you can hear the voices of subtropical birds in the song of a starling returning from wintering. Scream - a variety of meowing sounds, often heard from a flying flock.
Habitats. Common in open forests, steppes and populated areas. Prefers open cultural landscapes with tree plantations, parks and gardens.
Nutrition. It feeds on a variety of animal and plant foods and, at the end of the nesting period, gathers in large, dense flocks.
Nesting sites. It nests mainly near human dwellings, occupying artificial nesting boxes made and hung especially for starlings, niches under balconies and roofs, etc. Less commonly, it settles in hollow trees near populated areas.
Nest location. The nest is located both singly and in small groups. When nesting in the forest, the starling usually occupies the hollows of the great spotted woodpecker, as well as other medium-sized woodpeckers.
Nest building material. The hollow is abundantly lined with soft stems of grass, sometimes straw and a large number feathers of domestic and wild birds.
Features of masonry. The clutch contains from 5 to 8, more often 5-6, bright blue eggs without a pattern. Egg dimensions: (27-32) x (20-23) mm.
Nesting dates. Common starlings arrive early, usually in March, when thawed patches appear in the fields, and immediately occupy nesting sites. In April, eggs appear in the nests. Incubation lasts 13-15 days. The chicks are then fed in the nest for three weeks. Their flight occurs in the second half of May - the first half of June. In birds, a second clutch is sometimes observed.
After the chicks have fledged, starlings gather in flocks and soon (in July - August) leave the nesting area, moving south and southwest to places with plenty of food. Here they remain until the autumn departure for wintering grounds. And only small groups continue to stay in the breeding areas until autumn. Departure takes place in September - October.
Spreading. Distributed from the western borders of Russia to Transbaikalia, flies to the south of the Far East. In the north of the range, through agricultural areas it reaches the northern taiga.
Wintering. Winters mainly in North Africa, India, and Southern Europe. It is found in the Caucasus and here and there in large cities, and often flocks of starlings winter in the same squares and parks from year to year.
Economic importance. In the south of the country, flocks of starlings sometimes cause great damage to orchards and vineyards. At the same time, it destroys various garden caterpillars and slugs, dipterous insects and their larvae (flies, gadflies, horse flies) that harm domestic animals, May beetles, and in steppe areas - various locusts. Considering the benefits of the starling in agriculture, it was settled in North America, where it multiplied and spread greatly.

Description of Buturlin. The starling is one of the most popular birds. Who doesn’t know the starling, our constant neighbor, the resident of the starling? More early spring, with the appearance of thawed patches on the hills, we say: “The starlings have arrived!”
But it is not only the proximity to humans that makes the starling a widely known bird. His appearance and coloring so distinctive that it is difficult to mix it with any other bird. The starling's plumage is generally very dark, almost black, with small light specks, which are more noticeable in the fall on females. The dark color has a brilliant greenish or purple tint almost everywhere, especially on the head, chest and back. The ends of the wings are brownish. Male differs from the female in spring by a yellow beak and more shiny plumage. U females in the spring the beak is dark at the tip, the light specks in the plumage are more noticeable, but in the fall, after molting, both sexes are difficult to distinguish. Young they are easily recognized by the general brown tone of the plumage, lighter on the underside (their throat is almost white). The starling measures about 22 centimeters (total length).
Starling meets in the summer and nests throughout Europe, and in the European part of Russia to the north to Finland and the Northern Dvina, to the south to the Crimea and the Caucasus inclusive. To the east, the starling is distributed beyond the Urals and throughout Siberia, and to the south - in Central and Central Asia (in Kazakhstan and further south).
Over the vast area of ​​their distribution, starlings have several geographical subspecies, differing mainly in the shades of the shiny parts of the plumage. (In European starlings, the top of the head, throat and chest have a shiny greenish tint, alternating with purple). Brilliant multi-colored tones depend not on pigments, but on the special structure of feathers; When viewing starlings from different viewing angles and lighting, the shades change and transform into one another.
The starling shines just as iridescently from afar when it is in the bright spring sun with excitement sings their original songs on the roof or at the birdhouse entrance. The singer stretches out, shakes and flaps his wings, opens his beak wide and desperately squeals, whistles and squeals. But among these unpleasant sounds there are clean and beautiful ones. The starling is a master at adopting other people's voices and all sorts of sounds that he hears. From a good singer you can hear an accurate rendering of the songs of a blackbird, warblers, bluethroats, lark, spinning top, oriole, the chirping of a swallow, the cry of a quail, a jay, various predators, ducks, and even the flawlessly rendered croaking of frogs, the creaking of a cart or gate, the sound of a mill wheel to the sound of water , the crack of a shepherd's whip, the clucking of a hen and much more. All this is repeated in a row, patter; finally, squealing piercingly with his beak wide open, the singer clinks his glasses sharply 2-3 times and suddenly falls silent. All sounds heard at the nesting site or at distant wintering grounds in Africa and India are included in songs; in the old singer they reach a very wide variety.
In the first days upon arrival starlings have a difficult time, especially in the more northern parts of their nesting area (arrival in early April). There are still few insects; the ground has only been freed from snow in some places. The return of cold weather and snowstorms sometimes forces starlings to migrate south, but in such cold and late springs many of them die.
However, the weather in spring does not have much effect on the behavior of birds. Sometimes the snow falls in flakes, and the starlings scream at the birdhouses, as if flapping their wings in ecstasy.
In early spring they hunt for earthworms that crawl to the surface of the earth in thawed places, they collect larvae of beetles and other insects that overwintered in secluded places.
The first arriving birds are all males. The females appear a few days later, and then the songs and animation reach their greatest extent. By the time the females arrive, the males have already chosen birdhouses, hollows or other places suitable for nests, and now, sitting near them, they sing loudly, fight with neighbors and attract females to themselves in every possible way. After a few days, the pairs have already decided, and preparations for nesting begin. There are indications, confirmed by bird ringing, that starlings sometimes form pairs for several years, and perhaps for life. But it is unknown whether the male and female stay together during the wintering grounds. It is possible that with a high ability for orientation and memory for places, the male and female, arriving separately in the spring, easily find the old nesting site and each other.
Usually starlings settle in in colonies, several pairs nearby. Such colonies reach especially large sizes in groves with a large number of hollow trees or along coastal urems with old alders and willows. In the south, starlings sometimes get into fights with rollers and green woodpeckers over hollows. They also nest at the base of the nests of large predators (for example, the white-tailed eagle in the southern Urals), as well as herons (in the Volga delta). But even in artificial birdhouses, if they are spaced densely, close to one another, as in some villages, starlings settle willingly, in the closest proximity of a pair from a pair. Such nesting density depends, in addition to the social, flocking instincts of birds, also on the way they feed.
Starlings collect feed not in the immediate vicinity of the nest, but fly after it to hunt further away - to large vegetable gardens, threshing floors, outskirts and fields and river banks. These constant flights for food from the birdhouse and back are especially noticeable during the feeding of the chicks. It is usually not difficult to find these favorite feeding places for starlings. Often, especially near villages, such places include large vegetable gardens, cabbage, rutabaga, potato fields and areas of other crops. Here starlings spend a lot of time at this time useful work, freeing plants from caterpillars, slugs and other pests.
Under construction nests both sexes participate. Birds drag everything suitable for bedding into a birdhouse or hollow - dry stems, hay, straw, moss, chicken and geese feathers, livestock wool, etc.
A well-closed nest does not require much skill and care in construction; it is ready in a few days. The female begins to linger in the nest, sits in it, and the male sings nearby. Full masonry contains 5-6 eggs (sometimes 7) greenish-blue, rather pale in color, without any spots. They are noticeably elongated (about 30 millimeters long). The male does not take much part in the incubation, but sometimes the female flies off to watering or feeding alone, and he climbs into the nest and sits there, occasionally sticking out his long yellow beak.
Hatching day chicks It is difficult to notice, since newborns squeak very quietly and for the first day they live off the remnants of the nutritious yolk in the intestines. But you can find out about the important event that happened if you follow the old birds more closely. They carry halves of shells from the nest in their beaks and throw them nearby. Near a large nesting colony after the chicks hatch, such half-shells are not a rare find.
But already 2-3 days after hatching, near the nests you can clearly hear the friendly squeaking of the chicks, and the behavior of the parents changes noticeably. Their feeding flights become more frequent, and both fly separately, taking turns bringing food to the chicks. From early morning feeding goes most diligently, around 10-11 o'clock the parents disappear for half an hour - an hour (flying off to a watering hole, swimming or to a more distant foraging), and then, after returning with prey, feeding weakens in the middle of the day and resumes with renewed vigor in the evening. During the day, parents fly for food many dozens of times and spend a lot of energy on this. According to some observations, in the midst of feeding the chicks, old birds sometimes even fall to the ground from fatigue. The work is really big: before flying, the grown chicks almost always ask for food, sticking their heads out of the hole in the hollow or birdhouse. One will receive food, calm down for five minutes, and in its place, closer to the exit, another will already climb, and again a yellow-mouthed head with a whitish neck sticks out of the entrance. The arrival of the father or mother is met with a loud, sharp cry.
Grown-up chicks are fed by larger insects, which the parents sometimes give whole (beetles, grasshoppers, large caterpillars). Snails are also eaten.
Flight from the nest occurs on the fourteenth to fifteenth day, but it is not so easy for parents to lure the young out and force them to fly out. They tenaciously hold on to the edge of the entrance, and only hunger makes them decide to take their first flight. The parents “lure” the young in every possible way, spinning around with food in their beaks near the nest, without flying up to it, animatedly screaming and fussing around. Sometimes other starlings fly to the chicks, ready to fly, with food, but do not give it away, but only show it.
But finally, the young ones fly out, move to pastures, vacant lots, vegetable gardens (most often near rivers) and sit in trees, waiting for their parents. Parents bring food to the fledglings, but do not always give it to them, and often throw it in front of the young so that they get used to grabbing the prey themselves. They do this, for example, with cockchafers and their larvae.
In more southern areas (south of the Moscow region), old starlings usually begin their second hatching (at the end of June). At this time, young ones, with single old individuals, fly in flocks and feed in pastures, riverine meadows and wastelands, usually gathering for the night in coastal willows and reeds.
But they reach especially large sizes flocks starlings even later - in July, August - in open or steppe places, for example, along the Lower Volga, in the North Caucasus. A flock consisting of many thousands of individuals appears from a distance as a rapidly rushing cloud. The remarkable coordination of movements of all its members attracts attention. Hundreds of birds simultaneously make turns, switch to soaring flight and all descend to the ground together. Having descended, the flock scatters over a large area, and the birds quickly run across (usually in one direction), busily and deftly examining the grass and all the depressions in the ground with their long beaks. Summer flocks of starlings willingly search for food in livestock pastures or even among resting herds. They remove dung beetles and fly larvae from droppings. Sometimes you can see 2-3 starlings walking on the backs of cows or sheep, collecting insects in their fur.
During the summer and autumn migrations in the south of Russia, starlings bring some harm attack on vineyards. But along with the berries, they also eat insect pests.
In July - August, starlings molt, and then begin departure for the winter. Banding has established that young individuals fly away earlier than older ones, sometimes as early as July, migrating in a certain (southwestern) direction. At the beginning of October, flights are already taking place everywhere. Interestingly, before leaving, starlings return to their birdhouses and sing near them, as if they are about to nest again. But after a day or two they disappear.
From European nesting grounds, starlings fly mainly to North Africa- to Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, but partial wintering also occurs in Crimea, the Caucasus and Southern Europe. Siberian and Central Asian starlings winter in India. In wintering grounds, starlings also lead a gregarious lifestyle. The singing does not stop (especially in spring), and the young people learn a lot from the old people.
Despite some harmful activity in autumn (in vineyards and orchards), the starling is undoubtedly very useful a bird that should be protected and attracted in every possible way. It deserves this as a destroyer of various garden caterpillars and slugs, dipterous insects and their larvae (flies, gadflies, horse flies) that harm domestic animals, May beetles, and in steppe areas - various locusts. For this, he can be forgiven for attacks on cherries, grapes and other berries in the fall. Considering the benefits of the starling in agriculture, it was settled in North America, where it multiplied and spread greatly.

Perhaps there is no better imitator of all kinds of sounds in the bird world than the modest Sturnus vulgaris - the common starling. They say that a cat's meow is often heard from flying flocks: and this is only a small grain of the starling's parodic gift.

Description, appearance

The starling is constantly compared to the blackbird, citing the similarity of their size, dark shiny plumage and beak color.

The fact that this is, after all, a starling is indicated by its short tail, body with small light specks and ability to run on the ground, unlike bouncing blackbirds. In spring, light specks are more visible in females, but by autumn, thanks to molting, this feature is erased.

The beak is moderately long and sharp, slightly curved downward: yellow in the mating season, black in other months. Until the chicks reach puberty, their beaks are colored only brownish-black. Young starlings are also distinguished by the general brown tint of their feathers (without the bright gloss inherent in adults), the special roundness of their wings and a light neck.

This is interesting! It has been established that the color of the metallic tone is determined not by the pigment, but by the design of the feathers themselves. When the angle and lighting change, the flickering plumage also changes its shades.

The common starling does not grow more than 22 cm with a weight of 75 g and a wingspan of almost 39 cm. It has a massive body resting on reddish-brown legs, a proportionate round head and a short (6-7 cm) tail.

Ornithologists divide starlings into several geographical subspecies, whose black feathers are distinguished by shades of metallic luster. Thus, European starlings shimmer green and purple in the sun, while in other subspecies the back, chest and back of the neck shimmer blue and bronze.

Range, habitats

The starling lives everywhere except Central and South America. Thanks to humans, the bird spread throughout New Zealand, Australia, South-West Africa and North America.

There have been several attempts to establish starlings in the United States: the most successful attempt was in 1891, when a hundred birds were released into the wild in New York's Central Park. Despite the fact that most of the birds died, those remaining were enough to gradually “take over” the continent (from Florida to Southern Canada).

The starling has occupied vast areas of Eurasia: from Iceland/Kola Peninsula (in the north) to Southern France, Northern Spain, Italy, Northern Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Northern Iran and Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Northwestern India (in the south) .

This is interesting! In the east, the range extends to Lake Baikal (inclusive), and in the west it covers the Azores. The starling has been seen in Siberia at approximately 60° north latitude.

Some starlings never leave their inhabited areas (these include birds of southern and western Europe), another part (from eastern and northern European territories) always flies south for the winter.

The common starling is not particularly demanding of its habitat, but avoids mountains, preferring plains with salt marshes, woodlands, swamps and steppes, as well as cultivated landscapes (gardens/parks). He likes to settle closer to the fields and, in general, not far from humans, who provide the starling with an abundant food supply.

Starling lifestyle

The most hard life in migratory starlings returning home in early April. It happens that at this time snow falls again, driving away the birds to the south: those who did not have time to migrate simply die.

The males arrive first. Their friends appear a little later, when the potential chosen ones have already chosen places for nesting (including hollows and birdhouses), and are now honing their vocal abilities, not forgetting to fight with their neighbors.

The starling reaches up, opening its beak wide and fluttering its wings. Harmonious sounds do not always come out of his throat: he often squeals and squeals unpleasantly. Sometimes migratory starlings skillfully imitate the voices of subtropical birds, but more often Russian birds become role models, such as:

• oriole;
• lark;
• jay and thrush;
• warbler;
• quail;
• bluethroat;
• martin;
• rooster, chicken;
• duck and others.

Starlings can imitate not only birds: they flawlessly reproduce a dog's bark, a cat's meow, the bleating of a sheep, a frog's croak, the creaking of a gate/cart, the crack of a shepherd's whip, and even the sound of a typewriter.

The singer repeats his favorite sounds in a patter, ending the performance with a shrill squeal and “clinking glasses” (2-3 times), after which he finally falls silent. The older the starling, the more extensive its repertoire.

Bird behavior

The common starling is not a particularly friendly neighbor: it quickly gets involved in a fight with other birds if a profitable nesting site is at stake. Thus, in the USA, starlings displaced red-headed woodpeckers, natives North America. In Europe, starlings fight for the best nesting sites with green woodpeckers and rollers.

Starlings are sociable creatures, which is why they gather in flocks and live in closely spaced colonies (several pairs). In flight, they create a large group of several thousand birds, synchronously soaring, turning and landing. And already on the ground they “scatter” over a huge area.

This is interesting! While incubating and protecting their offspring, they do not leave their territory (with a radius of approximately 10 m), keeping other birds away. They fly to vegetable gardens, fields, cottages and the banks of natural reservoirs to forage.

They also usually spend the night in groups, usually on the branches of trees/shrubs in city parks and gardens or in coastal areas, densely overgrown with willows/reeds. At wintering grounds, a company of overnight starlings can consist of more than a million individuals.

Migration

The further north and east (in European regions) starlings live, the more seasonal migrations are typical for them. Thus, the inhabitants of England and Ireland tend to become almost completely sedentary, and in Belgium almost half of the starlings fly south. A fifth of Holland's starlings spend the winter in their homeland, the rest move 500 km south - to Belgium, England and Northern France.

The first batches migrate south in early September, as soon as the autumn molt ends. The migration peaks in October and ends by November. Lonely young starlings are the fastest to gather for the winter, starting in early July.

In the Czech Republic, East Germany and Slovakia, wintering birds account for approximately 8%, and even fewer (2.5%) in Southern Germany and Switzerland.

Almost all starlings inhabiting eastern Poland, northern Scandinavia, northern Ukraine and Russia are migratory. They spend the winter in southern Europe, India or northwest Africa (Algeria, Egypt or Tunisia), covering a distance of 1-2 thousand kilometers during flights.

This is interesting! Traveling starlings, arriving south in the thousands, are extremely annoying to the local population. Almost all winter, the residents of Rome do not really like to leave the house in the evenings, when the birds that fill the parks and squares chirp so much that they drown out the noise of passing cars.

Some starlings return from the resort very early, in February-March, when there is still snow on the ground. A month later (at the beginning of May) those who live in the northern regions of the natural range fly home.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of common starlings has been documented. Information provided by ornithologists Anatoly Shapoval and Vladimir Paevsky, who studied birds in the Kaliningrad region at one of the biological stations. According to scientists, in wildlife Common starlings live about 12 years.

Nutrition, starling diet

The good life expectancy of this small bird is partly explained by its omnivorous nature: the starling eats both plant-based and protein-rich foods.

The latter includes:

• earthworms;
• snails;
• insect larvae;
• grasshoppers;
• caterpillars and butterflies;
• symphylos;
• spiders.

Flocks of starlings ravage vast grain fields and vineyards, causing damage to summer residents by eating garden berries, as well as fruits/seeds of fruit trees (apple trees, pears, cherries, plums, apricots and others).

This is interesting! The contents of the fruit, hidden under a strong shell, are obtained by starlings using a simple lever. The bird inserts its beak into a barely noticeable hole and begins to expand it, unclenching it over and over again.