What is the social bird rosy starling. Pink starling - description, habitat, interesting facts

Latin name – Sturnus roseus
English name - Rose-coloured starling
Squad – Passeriformes
Family – Starlings (Sturnidae)
Genus - Starlings (Sturnus)

Conservation status

Common, locally abundant species. According to international status, it is classified as a species of least concern.

Species and man

During the nesting period, pink starlings feed on insects, mainly locusts, which brings great benefits to humans. However, during their migrations, their flocks can cause some damage to orchards and vineyards. But of course, this damage is not comparable with the benefits that pink starlings bring by destroying harmful insects.

Distribution and habitats

The habitat of the pink starling occupies the steppe and semi-desert zones of South-Eastern Europe, South-West Siberia, Central and Western Asia. The nesting area varies seasonally depending on the abundance of food supply.
They nest in colonies; nests are made in rocks, on steep banks of reservoirs, near humans - in artificial birdhouses or buildings with niches. There must be water near colonies of pink starlings.

Appearance

The pink starling is a small bird (smaller than a crow): length 19-22 cm, wingspan 12.3-13.9 cm, weight 59-90 g. The plumage of the head, neck, upper chest, flight feathers and tail is black with a metallic sheen. . Lower chest, stomach, back and sides - soft pink color. On the head of males there is a small crest of elongated feathers. The beak of the pink starling is shorter and thicker than that of the common one; in summer and autumn it is dark brown, in winter and spring it is dark pink, and the legs are pale yellow. Females are less bright than males.
Young birds are clearly distinguishable from adults - their plumage is less bright (brownish-gray instead of black and light sandy instead of pink).

Lifestyle and social behavior

Pink starlings are migratory birds, but they do not fly far; in winter they roam along the southern borders of their range.
Pink starlings live in large flocks; they feed, spend the night, and nest together. The size of such flocks in summer ranges from several tens to several hundred; in winter, a flock of wandering starlings can consist of several thousand individuals. In flight, a flying flock of starlings resembles a solid gray cloud, the birds stick so closely to each other. On the ground, pink starlings also try to stay closer to each other. They fly and run on the ground quite quickly. Moving, a flock of pink starlings stops to nest where in given time A large number of insects, especially locusts, accumulate. Thus, we can say about roseate starlings that they are “absolutely social” birds.

Vocalization

Like most starlings, rosy starlings can imitate the voices of not only other birds, but also imitate the barking of dogs, the croaking of frogs, car horns and even human speech. The song of the pink starling itself does not sound melodious at all and consists of creaking and grinding sounds.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

During the nesting period, pink starlings feed almost exclusively on animal food, mainly orthopteran insects (locusts). According to ornithologists, the diet of the pink starling in May-July consists of 70-100% animal food, with orthoptera insects accounting for up to 62%. It is known that the pink starling eats about 200 insects per day, i.e. 2.5 times more than it weighs itself. He feeds the same amount to the chicks. Therefore, the number of insects destroyed by a flock of pink starlings can be quite significant, and pink starlings themselves are considered one of the most useful birds. The benefit is also increased because starlings know in advance where there will be a concentration of insects, and it is there that they arrange their nesting colonies.
Starlings feed in places where locusts accumulate, mainly on the ground. There are no fights for prey among them; rather, on the contrary, individuals who have found prey call other members of the pack to hunt it down. Having caught a locust (or a large grasshopper), the starling first tears off its limbs and wings, then hits the ground and only then eats it. There are observations that starlings that have already eaten their fill still continue to catch and kill insects.
During non-breeding times, plant foods begin to play a large role in the diet of starlings, and then wandering flocks can attack gardens and vineyards.

Reproduction and parental behavior.

The breeding season of roseate starlings is clearly tied to the abundance of migratory locusts and is therefore quite short. It usually lasts from mid-May to early July, but can shift depending on local conditions (mainly feed).
Pink starlings nest in colonies, and often use burrows of shore swallows, rock crevices, niches under the roofs of buildings and other similar shelters as nesting sites. They also willingly settle in artificial birdhouses. The nest itself is made from grass and feathers, including the starlings themselves; both birds build the nest. There are 3-6 blue eggs without specks in the clutch; the incubation period lasts about 15 days; both parents incubate. Both the female and the male also take part in feeding the chicks; the chicks stay in the nest for about 24 days.
As soon as the bulk of the chicks in the colony begin to fly, the colony disintegrates, and there are cases where parents abandon the chicks and fly away, even if for some reason they have not yet become flightable.

Lifespan

In nature, the lifespan of pink starlings is about 12 years; in captivity they can live up to 20 years.

The story of life at the zoo

Currently there are 4 pink starlings living in our zoo. They can be seen in the Birds and Butterflies pavilion in a shared enclosure with other starling species. The diet of pink starlings includes both animal and plant foods.

The roseate starling (Sturnus roseus) is sometimes described as a species of Pastor Roseus and is classified in the monotypic genus Pastor, which is a synonym. The pink starling has a very wide range and is found on the European and Asian continents.

This is a colonial species that nests in colonies in the steppe or semi-desert zone in South-Eastern Europe, South-West Siberia, Central and Western Asia. The western border of the pink starling's range runs through Turkey, Asia Minor and Syria, and the eastern border runs through western China in the Xinjiang province. The northern border of the range runs through the south of Ukraine and Crimea, the North Caucasus, further east along the territory of Russia it goes south of Saratov, Ural mountains and eastern Altai, reaching Western Dzungaria, Eastern Tien Shan and Western Pamirs. But isolated occasional arrivals of pink starlings have been recorded in most European countries, right up to remote Iceland. It should also be noted that the nesting area of ​​the pink starling can pulsate in space, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting, which largely depends on the availability of food supply. Therefore, in some years, pink starlings nest in such European countries as Hungary, the republics of the former Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Greece, and in eastern Siberia it reaches the Yenisei basin.

The pink starling is a migratory bird that flies for the winter mainly to India, and to a lesser extent to the island of Sri Lanka and Oman. During winter migration, pink starlings often accumulate in large flocks in areas of gardens with an abundance of fruit trees, vineyards or other areas, where they find food.

The pink starling is a small bird with a body length ranging from 19-22 cm and a weight of 59-90 g, depending on the season and fatness. Its wingspan is 12.3-13.9 cm. Interestingly, the sitting pink starling, due to its smoothed outlines, is more reminiscent of a crow than its closest relative, the common starling. The plumage on the head, neck and upper chest is black in color with a well-defined metallic purple tint. Black-brown color with a greenish-violet tint and flight feathers of the wings of the first and second order, as well as the tail. The lower chest, abdomen, back and sides have a characteristic pastel pink color, which is how this species got its name. A crest of elongated feathers, which is more pronounced in males, is present on the back of the head. The beak is relatively short and thicker than that of the common starling and has a length of 22-26 mm. In the summer months and autumn it has a dark brown or almost black color, but in winter and spring it turns dark pink. There is sexual dimorphism in the color of the pink starling. Thus, the plumage of females has a more matte appearance, and where the feathers of the male are pastel pink, those of the females are brownish-white, in addition, there are wide whitish edges on the covert feathers. Noticeably different from adults are young birds, whose plumage is grayish-brown in the upper part of the body, and pale sandy in the lower part. The feathers of the wings and tail are brown with light tips. The pink starling's legs are pale yellow in color.

During the nesting period, the pink starling lives mainly in the steppes, as well as semi-desert or desert plains, where there is a good food supply. And the basis of their diet is various types locusts To build a nest, a necessary condition is the presence of rocks, cliffs or steep banks of reservoirs. They also inhabit artificial birdhouses and various buildings with niches. An important factor for nesting is the presence of water near the nest. The pink starling is capable of making daily flights to feeding places at a distance of up to 10 km.

Pink starlings live in flocks at any time of the year, and nest in colonies, where individual birds are located in 5-6 pairs in one place, almost close to each other. Pink starlings do not display aggressive behavior towards each other, even in the case of very dense nesting. Their behavior is in many ways reminiscent of that of the common starling, but in comparison with it they are more mobile, flying in a day long distances and appearing several times in the same place. While feeding, they also run along the ground with a nodding gait, looking everywhere for their prey as they walk. The pink starling is a distinctly social bird, so it always moves and feeds in large flocks, spends the night in groups, and nests in colonies. The number of starlings in a flock in the summer months can vary from several tens to several hundred individuals, but in winter, individual flocks merge and the number of birds in them increases significantly, often reaching tens of thousands. Sometimes starlings form numerous mixed flocks with other birds: sparrows, mynahs , crows, weaverbirds, and even necklace parrots.

During the nesting period, the main food of pink starlings is various species of Orthoptera, especially locusts, which they tirelessly pursue and eat with pleasure. Therefore, in areas regularly affected by locust attacks, the pink starling is considered one of the most useful birds. Special studies have shown that in May-July the diet of pink starlings consists of 70-100% animal food, of which Orthoptera make up about 60%. Among other insects, at this time they eat beetles, cicadas, mantises and ants, as well as woodlice and terrestrial mollusks. With an abundance of large caterpillars in feeding areas in certain periods, their share in the diet can reach up to 90%. Most prey is caught on the ground, with a smaller portion in the air. Pink starlings feed in large flocks of insects in places where insects gather, while the birds at the rear of the group regularly fly over those in front, and as a result, the entire flock takes turns moving in one direction. It should be noted that birds that have found prey signal this to other members of the flock, but fights between individual individuals in flocks over prey are practically not observed.

The breeding season of the pink starling is quite short, since it is very tightly tied to the abundance of migratory locusts in the area. It usually lasts from mid-May to early July, although it can vary depending on weather conditions. For example, in Crimea, in the area of ​​​​the Karadag Nature Reserve and the Swan Islands, the earliest arrival of pink starlings is different years varied greatly and was recorded between May 5 and June 30. As soon as the bulk of the chicks begin to fly, the nesting colonies disintegrate. Birds also fly away when the food supply has dried up, and in some cases parents abandon their chicks and fly away, even if for some reason they have not yet taken wing. Starlings use rock crevices, niches under the roofs of buildings, cracks in walls, and burrows of shorebirds (Riparia riparia) as nests. Most often, the nest is made on screes between two stones, the diameter of which is ideally 20-50 cm. If there are not enough convenient places for a nest, pink starlings can make a nest directly in open places or even use woodpiles of firewood. But pink starlings use artificial birdhouses very willingly. The nest itself is of rather rough construction and usually consists of a thin layer of tree branches or various herbs, mainly cereals, which is slightly lined from the inside with the starlings’ own feathers. Both the male and the female take an active part in the construction of the nest, which is built shortly after arriving from wintering grounds. A complete clutch usually consists of 3-6 eggs. The eggs have a size of (25-33) x (18.5-22.7) mm, they are slightly shiny, blue in color and without speckling. Incubation period lasts about 15 days, while both parents participate in incubation and subsequent courtship. The chicks remain in the nest in the care of their parents for about 24 days.

At the end of the nesting period, the diet of the pink starling changes, shifting towards plant foods. At this time, birds move to places rich in fruit trees and shrubs - vineyards, orchards, etc., where they feed on the fruits of mulberries, figs, cherries, grapes, apricots, raspberries, nightshade, etc., as well as seeds of plants such as wheat, sorghum or pennisetum sp. ). Therefore, at this time, pink starlings can often inflict tangible harm How orchards both vineyards and rice fields, for example, in India...

The pink starling refers to a rather interesting external characteristics bird. Representatives of the family prefer to build nests in rocky areas, as well as in crevices of stone buildings. They are found in mountainous areas, near ravines and other places of this type. Some couples who want privacy and a quiet existence occupy empty hollows in the trees.

Description

1. These individuals are somewhat similar to their ordinary counterparts. The only difference is the length of the beak, which is shorter, and the overall characteristics. Pink representatives are slightly smaller. Grown-up starlings differ from their own kind in the contrasting color of their plumage and the presence of a crest. As for size, birds grow up to 24 cm in body size, with a maximum weight of 80 grams. If we consider the wingspan, it is about 40 cm.
2. In summer and spring, birds have contrasting feather colors. They can be whitish with pink splashes, pure pinkish, or black with a purple or blue tint and a metallic sheen. The last feature is characteristic of the breast, head, wings, legs, thighs, and tail.
3. But most important characteristic is a crest falling down. The irises of the eyes are brownish, the legs are pink. The beak is pigmented pink or yellow with a dark base. It is short and not as pointed as its counterpart of the ordinary type.
4. When studying differences by gender, it is important to highlight that representatives of male and female feminine there are practically none. Except that the females are not so rich in color; they have a short crest and a faint sheen of plumage.
5. Young animals that have not yet passed the one-year mark cannot boast of bright and contrasting feathers. The younger generation is dull, unlike the older birds. Black-brown head, wings, tail, neck. The back is pigmented with a dirty brown tone, and purple-red inclusions are observed behind the neck. There are practically no shades of pink.
6. There are no mottled stripes in the area of ​​the breast and belly, but there is an ocher color with gray markings. The tail is darkish, as are the wings. In these areas, ocher-colored edges are observed. These individuals are different from ordinary young starlings light color, not a sharp beak, contrasting color palette on the wings and the body itself.
7. When a bird is in flight, it is difficult not to notice it or confuse it with traditional representatives of the family. Our pink brothers are quite contrasting, the area of ​​the tail and wings especially stands out.

Habitat

1. Many birds from this breed group have been spotted off the coast of Turkey, as well as in Pakistan and Mongolia. The population extends throughout Eurasia. Goes to Sri Lanka (India) for the winter.
2. In the vastness of our homeland they are quite rare due to the fact that they are not suitable climatic conditions. They are also common in the Caucasus, Volga region and Crimea.
3. Individuals are nomads because they are constantly in search of food. They feed on locusts. They live in steppe zones, are rare and unpopular in forests.

Lifestyle

You can hardly find these pink feathered representatives in the forest-steppe, as well as on the territory of our country. Birds go to India for the winter because the climatic conditions there suit them. They differ from ordinary representatives of the family in their smaller overall characteristics and blunt beak. They feed on locusts and like to nest in rocky areas.

Video: Pink starling (Sturnus roseus)

Class: Birds Order: Passeriformes Family: Starlings Genus: Starlings Species: Pink starling

Pink starling - Sturnus roseus

Appearance

An adult bird has a crest on its head, head, neck, wings and tail are black with a metallic sheen, the rest of the plumage is pink. Young birds are light, grayish-brown, lighter below.

Lifestyle.

Inhabits open dry spaces with cliffs, rocks, heaps of stones, and is often found in the cultural landscape. Common and numerous migrant. It lives in large flocks, less often in pairs and alone; in flight, the flock looks like a dense lump or ribbon. It usually feeds on the ground, sometimes on trees and bushes. Breeds in colonies.

The nest is made in crevices of cliffs and rocks, in heaps of adobe and dung, in woodpiles and between stones. Masonry of 4-6 blue eggs in May - June. Scream and song are sharp, creaking and hoarse sounds. It brings great benefits, destroying locusts, and in some places harms cherry orchards and vineyards. Juveniles differ from young common starlings in being light in color.

Reference books by geographer and traveler V.E. Flint, R.L. Boehme, Yu.V. Kostin, A.A. Kuznetsov. Birds of the USSR. Publishing house "Mysl" Moscow, edited by prof. G.P. Dementieva. Photo: “Rosy Starling (Pastor roseus)” by Lip Kee Yap - originally posted to Flickr as Rosy Starling (Pastor roseus). Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 from Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Rosy_Starling_(Pastor_roseus).jpg #/media/File:Rosy_Starling_(Pastor_roseus).jpg

The steppe zone, that part of it where hordes of locusts settle, is inhabited by beautiful birds - pink starlings. The closest relative of the pink starling is the common shpak. Appearance this bird resembles a crow rather than an ordinary starling. The shpak and the pink starling have similar sizes, flight and some habits. And these relatives have nothing in common in color.

Description of the pink starling

The plumage covering the head and neck is black with a dark purple metallic tint. The black feathers in the wings and tail sparkle with greenish-purple hues. The remaining feathers are painted in delicate pale pink tones. Young rosy starlings are covered in brown plumage. The color of the legs is reddish-brown. The colors of males are brighter than those of females.

The pink beak of these birds is much thicker than that of ordinary starlings. The head of the original birds is decorated with a cute black crest formed by long feathers. Males sport a more pronounced crest than females.

Behavioral characteristics of the pink starling

It just so happens that the pink starling is a social bird, flocking into giant strong flocks. Seeing a highly social creature alone is almost impossible. Unique birds live in huge communities. Birds gather in flocks of dozens, and often hundreds. Flocks unite into gigantic colonies, including tens of thousands of pairs without taking into account the younger generation.

Birds fly quite quickly. They often flap their wings, quickly sweeping over the ground. During flight, individuals stick to each other. The flock that has risen into the sky looks like a solid dark lump. Having landed, the birds immediately disperse, continuing to run and flying in one direction. As a result, the entire flock moves in one direction.

Distribution area

The birds migrate throughout the winter, searching for food in the desert regions spread across Iraq, Iran, India and Afghanistan. In the spring, they migrate to southeastern Europe and the lands of Central Asia. They inhabit the Caucasus and southern Siberia.

Nesting Features

For nesting, the pink starling bird chooses unoccupied spaces near water. She is attracted by steppes, desert and semi-desert plains, rich in food, abounding in cliffs and rocks with crevices, steep coastlines with small shelters, cracks, and buildings with niches. In these secluded places, difficult to reach for predators, birds make nests.

Shpak is a relative of the pink starling; it nests completely differently. It's important to him early spring find a mate, build a nest, lay eggs and raise offspring. Relatives with pink coloring are in no hurry to nest. Their colonies settle when an abundance of food accumulates in the nesting area. The larvae of locusts and grasshoppers grow by mid-summer.

Starling nests

Pink starlings make nests in rock crevices and fragments of cliffs, between stones, in burrows built by swallows, in cracks on cliffs. In the steppes, nests are built in depressions in the ground.

The bird's nest is formed from a thin layer of dry plant stems. A careless layer of stems is covered with wormwood leaves, feathers dropped by steppe birds. When finished, the nests look like massive small bowls. The top of the nest is barely covered with sparse grass or pebbles.

In an area of ​​25 m2, pink starlings manage to place up to 20 nests. The nests are crowded one next to another, sometimes touching the walls. From the outside, at first glance, it seems that it is just a chaotic heap of garbage. With such careless construction, the masonry becomes prey for voracious locusts.

Pale gray eggs appear in nests in May. A full clutch contains 4-7 eggs. The chicks, born after 5 weeks in an atmosphere of crowding and complete confusion, become the common property of all adults. Couples who have lost their offspring due to locusts cope painlessly with the loss by feeding other people's chicks.

Grown-up chicks do not shy away from their adult counterparts. They willingly take over the food of any nearby bird. In a kingdom of incessant crowds and confusion, adult birds indiscriminately distribute food, satisfying the hunger of their own and neighboring young birds.

Features of hunting

Birds hunt in an original way. A huge cloud of birds, having landed in the hunting grounds, forms an orderly formation in dense ranks. Birds move in one direction, maintaining a distance of 10 centimeters. As they run, they snatch grasshoppers and locusts from the grass.

Each bird is so absorbed in its occupation that it is unable to interfere with the hunting of its neighbors. During the period of well-coordinated hunting, not a single starling remains unprofitable. Everyone not only eats their fill, but also feeds their offspring to their fullest.

The offspring in the colony grow up together. After a month and a half, the young fly out of their secluded nests. As soon as the chicks get stronger and leave the nests, the colony will move away from its home, scatter into separate flocks and begin to lead a nomadic lifestyle.

pink starlings

The pink starling can be called an experienced nomad and just a gregarious wanderer. All of these terms hit the spot when we're talking about about birds from the starling family. forced because roseate starlings are based on a key insect - the locust.

Starlings, chasing locusts, inevitably wander. Eating locusts is profitable. The harmful insect is not adapted to living alone. The locusts are moving in huge numbers. Therefore, starlings are not just flocking creatures, like other birds. They are collective creatures, living year-round in strong flocks.

An adult requires 200 g of complete food per day. A colony of ten thousand pairs, burdened with offspring, destroys about 108 tons of locusts in a month. To feed themselves, huge colonies settle to nest in places that are filled with locusts and other

Having caught a locust, the bird tears off its legs and wings, hitting the insect on the ground and deftly using its beak. Having broken the victim into pieces, it begins to swallow them. When there is an abundance of locusts, the birds do not so much eat the insects as simply maim and kill them.

The limited food chain of pink starlings forces them to chase insects, depriving them of the opportunity to own their homes to which they would return from the winter. The biology of birds is tied to feeding on locusts and other orthoptera. Birds appear only where there are locusts. If there is not enough food in any place, the pink starling is capable of making huge flights in search of food.

However, locusts and orthoptera are not the only food of pink starlings. They enjoy eating berries, weed seeds and rice. Birds can cause considerable damage in cherry orchards, vineyards and rice fields. In addition, starlings feed on beetles, lepidoptera, spiders and ants.

Harmful or beneficial

During the ripening period, wandering starlings turn into a real disaster for gardeners. Therefore, a logical question arises about whether it is necessary to reduce the number of the pink starling, which is characterized by excessive gluttony. Does the benefit brought by the destruction of pests during their mass development compensate for the damage caused to the crop in the gardens?

To answer this question, you need to make some simple calculations. In captivity, the bird can eat up to 300 harmful insects. A colony of one and a half thousand pairs will destroy approximately a million harmful creatures within 24 hours.

In addition, pink starlings settle in huge colonies only where pests multiply en masse. At the same time, birds know in advance about the danger, which people are able to notice only when it becomes obvious. Considering that locusts destroy everything without regret, starlings become a real salvation for the crop. The harm caused by birds simply pales in comparison to the disaster caused by locusts.