Things you need to know about STARLINGS!
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2021
- In this video I share everything you could ever need or want to know about the Starling, Common Starling or European Starling. This includes what starlings eat, where starlings nest, how long starling live for and what a starlings song sounds like.
Common starlings are noisy and gregarious and a familiar sight across the UK. They are found in towns and cities but also in the countryside and along the coast. They are slightly smaller than a blackbird and have a short stumpty looking tail. They often walk rather than hop and have an almost upright posture. From a distance, starling look black but on close inspection you’ll see that their feathers are iridescent purples and greens. During the spring and summer the tip of their beak is yellow and this is also the time when it is easiest to separate the males from the females. At the base of the beak, males are greyish blue whilst the females are a faded pink colour. Young starlings are a similar shape and size but are brown in colour.
Starling are very adept at mimicking noises that they hear and produce an almost electronic sounding call of random clicks and whistles.
Starlings will eat fruit and berries but their main diet is invertebrates. They spend a lot of their time searching through grassy patches looking for insects, worms and spiders. They are also rather fond of the mealworms that some people put out to feed the birds.
Starlings begin to nest in April with several pair nesting near to each other in cavities, nest boxes, hollow trees or other suitable sized holes. The male starts the construction creating a basic nest of twigs and then the female finishes it with grasses, feathers and moss. Each female will then lay between 4 and six blue coloured eggs and then incubate them, without much help from the males for around 12 days. The chicks then spend a further 3 weeks in the nest being fed by both parents. Once they have left the nest, the young starlings are very observant of their parents, often following them around very closely to learn how to find their own food and after a further 2 to 3 weeks they will be fully independent. At this point the pair may choose to nest again whilst their young merge with other youngsters and non breeding adults.
Throughout most of the year starlings live in small flocks but during the autumn and winter, they can gather in very large groups to roost communally. Just before they settle for the night these flocks perform aerial displays, turning in unison across the evening sky. This is known as a Murmuration and is one of natures spectacles.
Despite these mass gatherings, starling numbers have dropped significantly in the UK since the 1970s. There are currently around 1.8 million remaining here but this represents a decline of around 66% and so far, nobody really knows why.
#gardenbirds
#britishwildlife
#starling
Some of the footage in this video was obtained using creative commons licences. The originals, their creators and relevant licences can be found at:
Murmuration: • Amazing Birds! 50,000...
Loads on feeder: • European Starlings, Ja...
Young starling sticking head out of hole: • Špaček obecný (sturnus...
Bathing starlings: • Starlings having a bath
Eggs: search.creativecommons.org/ph...
Song: • Video
Thumbnail image: www.flickr.com/photos/volvob1... - Домашні улюбленці та дикі тварини
I had a pet starling, he was the love of my life. I wanted to release him but he didn't want to go. He was sitting in my window, his whole family called to him from the outside. He flew over to me n sat on my shoulder. I had him close to 13 years. I feel sad he didn't have a natural life, but he was the only thing that kept me going. My little earth angel!🙏
@@willoughby1888 very kind of you .thank you! He was the little love of my life!
@@willoughby1888 2
I have 4 of them that are almost 3 weeks old and I’ve had them since they were about 2 days old. They’re now in a pen outside and are just starting to eat on their own while I’m still feeding them. I’m worried about them not being able to find their own food so I’m going to continue putting food in their pen. They absolutely bombard me when I go in their pen I’m hoping they are going to hang around once their free and find food I am worried about them I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes I’m feeding them a variety of fruits worms and dog food with baby cereal
That is a great story. I used to run them off here in the US but now we just let all the birds eat. Starlings need food too although I do still run them off the bluebird mealworms
That's a lovely story @my starling
Having him near your side for 13 years was a gift to both you and him. These little birds murmurations are an absolute sight to behold, nature being incredible again!
Starlings are my FAVORITE little birds. I have had pet starlings which I adored, especially my darling LUCERITO HEAVEN SENT. I named him so because of his markings which look like little stars, and because he came to me from " Heaven" above as an infant, when I needed a baby to love. He spoke a lot, often in context, which amazed me! He had his own large aviary and was also free to fly all over in our house, with strict supervision for his safety. When he was 2 years old, I got him a little mate for his own happiness. It took a while, but he accepted her and they would play very much and would sing together. He never let her go inside his little bird house, though, but he wanted me to go into it with him. Just to please him, I would place my hand in it and that alone seemed to delight him. He was VERY expressive. I could write a book about all his interesting behaviours and extensive vocabulary. He would call me: "Honey, come here, please; come kiss, kiss!". ❤. "Itty mama loves the baby; mama loves the baby, mama loves him".. People who visited us were amazed at his long songs and large vocabulary, but he would. NEVER
appear in company. The only humans he ever felt comfortable with were my little family. With the 3 of us he was free to be himself. He lived 15 short years, his little friend, Sarita lived 16 years. I miss them SO VERY MUCH!!
He was VERY loving and expressive!! ❤❤❤❤❤
My pet starling spoke in context. Mostly about stuff he wanted to eat, but sometimes he would come up with some shockers, like when my parakeet took his raisin toast he said "that wasn't nice" He would speak in parakeet to the parakeet as well. I miss the little guy.
They are miraculous, extremely intelligent birds. As for the humans who find them invasive (many people hate them and shoot them), if I could substitute those cretins with Starlings I would do so in a NY minute. The planet would rejoice.
@@elenalatici9568 In the US they are aggressively outcompeting so many other native species that it is actually a problem.
Labeling a species as "invasive" isn't about morals or anyone's sensibilities. It's about our ecosystems.
@elenalatici9568 you obviously have zero clue what invasive species do and you simply ignore the fact they are killing off all of naive species
I, as a beekeeper, offer my starlings drone brood removed from the hives to keep mite infestation low. I witnesses the first starling to have found the brood, after having saved plenty of white larvae, fly off and return with dozens of other starlings within minutes. I am convinced the first starling has communicated with others ... Beautiful birds! ❤❤❤❤
Starlings do communicate with the rest of the flock i have whitnesd it many times , as do jackdaws and carrion crows seen it so many times here
I've seen Starlings pick up ants and place them in their plumage - the formic acid the ants squirt, is used against those mites.
I have one I found as a nestling, it somehow survived and I kept it as a pet. Very smart and friendly bird, probably a better pet than one could buy at a store. Free flys in the house each day and is very well behaved. It says entire phrases, whistles songs, mimics my phone ring tone, camera shutter sound and sometimes the coffee pot, lol.
Hello. Awesome, I have a new baby Starling it's only about 2 weeks old so far.
Amazing!! They're my no 1 favourite bird❤
Cool.
Thank you for sharing. I have a 6 day old starling that is doing wonderful. Got it at 2 days old...
It has the will to live and I am determined to do all I can for this little baby!!!
I have a pet starling. I rescued her when she fell out of the nest at about 2 days old. Starlings are wonderful birds and they are extremely intelligent.
They are a menace to our ecosystem and our native birds. It's best to kill that thing.
what did you feed her ?
I feed her mashed up dry dog food softend with hot water.
she didnt fall. the siblings are all competing with each other for food. the smallest sometimes will be pushed out
@@13orrax Sad but true
I absolutely love Starlings. Birds with a ton of personality and nothing like the pests some consider them to be and as for the flocks performing their aerial displays, they are nothing short of astonishing and one of the wonders of the natural world. Great video Liam, thank you.
Thank you.
The people who consider them pests are right. Here in the United States, they are a highly invasive and destructive bird
@@Leafy17 but here in the UK they are not pests. This is the issue with people releasing animals where they shouldn't be, starlings and house sparrows in the USA for example or signal crayfish and American mink in the UK.
@@AShotOfWildlife I understand that. I'm sorry, I think I'm still mad over my poor Bluebirds that those evil starlings killed
@@Leafy17muripiss
One of the best days of my life was watching a group of starlings going crazy in a big bird bath in my yard. They looked like a public swimming pool full of water splashing children.
When they had knocked out most of the water I kept refilling it. They returned repeatedly for more raucous splashing - what a pool party in my woodsy backyard that day. Loved it !
Oh man!!! I would love to see that!
I love starlings. They can mimic other birds, which is hilarious to watch, and back in the day I heard one mimic a trimphone so well that the lady of the house used to rush indoors to answer it! Their iridescent plumage is pretty sensational. One year my lawn played host to a creche of youngsters. 29 in total and the noise they made was incredible, all chattering to each other and squabbling over food they were finding. My cat was terrified, bless his heart, and gazed out at the scene with eyes like saucers!
My son and I were at a local drive in restaurant. A few Starling came up to our car asking for food. They ate of my hand and one sat in my hand. After that experience, I began to learn about them. Fascinating bird.
Wonderful video! Thank you!
I'm a starling, ask me anything. 😊 Starlings are one of the few animals that can focus their eyes forward for binocular vision to see what's directly in front of them, like that worm in a hole that's getting ready to be plucked out. They have more opening strength to pry than closing strength. Captive starlings' life expectancy is typically well over a decade. They go from egg to flying in three weeks and they learn to hunt from their parents when they fledge. Most rescues in the U.S. will not take them because they are considered invasive. Starlings make absolutely wonderful pets and Sawyer speaks in complete sentences and knows many tunes to whistle. Captive starlings require a high protein diet and are raised on mainly dry dog food. They molt once a year every fall, even the juveniles molt after only having gray feathers for a few months. Females tend to have lighter irises than males. They have lots of heart shaped spots in the fall and through wear molt become nearly black iridescent in the spring.
I should add that their beaks turn back to black during the fall and winter and love water. They need a hundred baths a day. Lol. They keep their beaks worn down in nature but must be trimmed in captivity. They're very inquisitive and curious and naturally aggressive when they want something such as a prized nesting spot. This is why they displace native species and are unpopular in the wild. If we suddenly lost starlings we would have a big crop problem with the amount of insects they eat being uncontrolled. They're just making the best of the situation they were forced into.
@Paula Burnette Oh I know that feeling! I had no idea either until a hatchling fell three stories into my garden. Saved by a squash plant! Lol. They're just the most magnificent creatures I can imagine.
What is starling called in urdu and can they be found in Pakistan?
How do you trim the beak? Won't a cuttlebone work?
@@gailbjgoraard7556 A cuttlebone will not work. Some people put a brick or something similar with them and that works pretty well IF they'll use it. They're pretty finicky and particular about things. You just have to keep trying new things until something catches and works. I use a small electric grinder like you would use for dog or cat nails. I highly discourage using clippers because they can easily exsanguinate and die from a small nick. Always have styptic powder or cornstarch on hand to immediately stop any bleeding. Hope that helps and answers your question.
i found a destroyed nest of these birds with one good egg remaining, took it home and gave it to my parrot which was taking care of her own eggs at the moment, she raised a healthy starling and i tamed it
I have lived on farms all my life. In winter a flock of starlings will land in the corner of a field, all spaced out evenly over an area of the field. I think they are probably hunting for leather jackets in the ground, for this purpose the muscles opening the beak, are stronger than the closing muscles, this is so they can push the closed beak into the ground, then open to seize the leather jacket, I believe this is a unique feature. Also starlings fly from rear to front, gradually covering the field, this method ensures they do not miss any area.
Nostalgia is a youth in northwestern Tasmania in the 60's, walking home from school after the rain, with the starlings singing their tune above to the powerlines.
I don't want to lose these little guys with their high-pitched sounds.
I've seen murmurations in Somerset over the levels . Just before the sun sets ...the flock sweeps and dives in wondrous harmony , until finally a unified drop from the sky into the trees ....exceptional !
Way out in the middle of nowhere, nothing but cows and wildlife in my part of the world, and yet I hear people complain about starlings all the time! I absolutely love them, and enjoy their music year-round, as they seek shelter in cavities of sheds and in a part of the tip-out of my home, where the same pair has nested for 5 years. Now all of their offspring are building up the numbers, too. They mimic so many sounds! One group of nestlings started calling to my guinea fowl, which was not pleasant, but that group flew off to a place about two miles from me, I discovered. My starlings steal dry cat food from the cats when winter snows get heavy, but otherwise they forage very well in the many waterways on this acreage, eating with the kildeers and plovers that often stay all winter, too. They love to follow me around when I work in the gardens along with the robins, eating tons of insects for me. I very much enjoyed this video, especially the male/female i.d. and the flocks flying in the air was just beautiful making me wonder if there will ever be so many starlings here one day.
Their winter murmurations are wonderful!
Yeah. This video and your comment made me appreciate them more.
@@harrymills2770 Thank you Harry Mills.
They are beautiful but they are aggressive enough while breeding that they will kick out native cavity nesters or even kill both the parents and or young in the nest just for the ability to use the nesting space.
I live in Ireland and I have a couple of them living in my roof, I love having breakfast and watch at them sing.
I love all birds including starlings. Once in the way home from picking up my son from work we saw them flying in a murmur. It was amazing. We parked up with loads of other people and just watched absolutely fascinated
Thank you! I love starlings. Their whirring and purring clicking call always brings me joy.
It's true. They are delightful to listen to.
There's a population of urban starlings where I live.. Its surprising how good these ones are at mimicking sound, so much so that I can personally testify that they can be taught how to sing complex guitar licks in the styles of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. This takes patience and a whole lotta Greggs pasties (tiny bits of the fat rich pastry, tossed or flicked in the general direction of individual birds, so as to avoid the feral pigeons), and much slow whistling. Also there is the risk of people thinking one is mad when doing this, but it's well worth it when you're having a coffee and a starling sits on the back of the chair opposite and breaks out the pentatonics.. Seriously. Great channel! 👍
I haven't heard a native song bird in about 15 years its only starlings and magpies but mostly starlings.
I have killed 300 every dam week for about 5 months now.
I haven't noticed any difference in there numbers but I did see 1 native bird that got attacked by 5 starlings in just moments after the native landed to take a break i had to scare the dam birds off the native.
Please if you see a starling shoot it.
Somehow these birds made it across the pond to America. I never thought much of them until one of my kids brought a fallen baby starling home. We put it in a terrarium and raised it to adulthood on baby parrot mix and later on crickets. When it started wanting to fly, we released it in a local forest preserve, but when we went there for a picnic, weeks later, it found us and landed on my shoulder! Ever since then, I've had a very different opinion of Starlings. Sorry to hear they're declining in the UK.
100 starlings were introduced into the Americas in Central Park, NYC in 1890. Since then, their numbers have exploded. They are technically an invasive species.
Thanks to this gentleman for explaining Starlings. I have a lot of them come to my garden (feeders). I noticed, what seemed to be young ones, accompanying older ones, and being fed by the older ones. Now I understand that this is the way the young are taught to hunt. It is so cute so watch. And I discovered about their love of the meal worms. I had bought a bag of dried meal worms for the Blue Jays. But they would not take it. One day I put some out on a plate and after one Starling found it, more showed up. They go crazy over the mealworms. I am close enough I can see them fly off with their mouth full of mealworms. I suspect they take them to the nest. Birds are amazing.
Woke up one morning to a starling flying around inside our house.
It got caught up in netting on our window,so I un-trapped it and picked it up and took it outside to let it go.
I could feel its heart beating which seemed to go extremely fast.
It was warm and it didn't seem to be afraid of me when I picked it up. It didn't try to Attack me either.Was hoping to hear it sing.
See them every day outside.
Love their displays when flying in flocks.
Lovely birds.
Good job on rescuing it. Do you know how it got into your house in the first place?
@@AShotOfWildlife probably through the attic as the door was open lol
I remember, in the 70s, all of our lawns being black with starlings and the late autumn and winter evening skies being black with flocks on their way to roost on the factory roofs in our local town, amazing. Good film, thank you.
The starlings in our garden appear to warn each other (and nearby nesting sparrows) of the presence of cats. They sit on the wire and repeat the same call over again. They are wonderful birds.
The starling killed my sparrow
They warn about, and chase off by 'mobbing', herring gulls as well .
Starlings and gulls have a very 'uncomfortable' relationship.
I sometimes sit in my room with the window open, and a plate of leftover food on my bed (usually chips or rice). Starlings visit me all day. They land at my window sill, have a look around, fly onto my bed, and dig into my leftovers. Dozens every day. I love it. I live in Ireland, by the way.
I live on the last floor of a building and I have a pair of starling nesting just above my bedroom window, in an empty space between the roof and the cement. I love them! They wake me up in the morning with beautiful songs and whistles, they also have 4 chicks which I see daily, I even got pictures of them!
Hello 👋, I am so grateful for people like yourself, most people really don’t understand the bond between a bird and other animals that you can have...My daughter was living in a hostel (a difficult time), I always brought her up to respect ✊ animals and birds alike..she watched a baby crow all day she knew it had either fallen out of the nest or was just abandoned by its parents, later that evening she went and picked it up from the car park below, other birds weren’t helping, no parents still didn’t come,so she sneaked it into her room, obviously you can’t have pets etc in her hostel, and she loved this little bird, she taught it to happily sit in her hand, and her shoulder, when she went to bed the little bird slept close to her on her pillow, the little bird loved her back,it was heartbreaking to her because someone grassed her up, she was heartbroken 😞 But she knew that little bird needed other birds of his kind to make a new family ❤️❤️,it was a really hard decision for her, but she did the right thing for the little bird, and little bird went to the local animal shelter, called “Foxy Lodge “ , where she was so praised for the care and kindness and love she had shown to this little bird 🦅, my daughter has the most beautiful love and kindness to all animals birds etc..And I’m so proud of her every day, because she puts animals first..and stands up for Animals, When they can’t speak, she is their Voice to be heard..🐾🦊🥰❤️✊✊✊💝♾♾
They are such likeable hooligans and always arrive in the garden mob handed. Watching their evening murmurations heading into London for a mass roost used to be one of the delights of a return commute to the South West suburbs particularly crossing the Thames with the setting sun as a backdrop.
I instantly recognized the call.
Heard it 1 billion times years ago when I lived in the country.
There's about one million of them in each township around Ontario.
In one way i find them pests but they do quite a job at knocking out numbers of Grubs and Beetle population and housefly if they can nab any.
I used to recognize a few of their native calls as I lived and worked all day with them all around me. A few learned to copy other bird calls
We found a startling baby that had fallen out of its nest. We're on day 5 of our rescue mission. It's amazing to watch him grow, eyes are opening more everyday and the feathers are amazing to see developing. He already has an amazing strong personality. I hope to release him when it's time.
He will be domesticated and have no family to teach him how to survive in the wild. Might be better to get him to an animal shelter.
How did your little bird get on? My friend is trying to save a one day old now
You should not release a imprinted bird. Not only do they not have others but they trust all people, perhaps a cat . It's not safe for them.
Unfortunately, he would likely die in the wild, he's domesticated & other birds wil kill him instantly. Please contact rescue center 🙏
@@CherryBlossomn1 He's already bonded to her and would be miserable without. He could be out all day but will always return.
I love watching stariings when they come to feed in my garden. The young at the moment, are very cute to watch.
Yes, I noticed my first fledged starlingbof the year a couple of days ago. They are right little characters :)
They're beautiful when you catch them in the right light. Have loads of them in my garden at the moment. We've been spending fortunes on mealworm's lately Lol! to feed them with all the other birds.
They're quite bold too. I was doing some gardening planting some runner beans, and every time I came across an earth worm I was throwing them 7 or 8 feet away from me. They wasn't shy enough to not keep coming back for more, my presence didn't seem to bother them.
Starlings work together as teams... During the hatch of flying ant's they can be seen going from place to place feasting on them with a few birds keeping watch whilst the others eat.. they change between each other who keeps watch , and then the ones who were watching go down to feed.. very intelligent birds 👍
Starlings are one of nature's great mimics, they can talk if reared as captive bred, they regularly imitate the calls of other birds so perfectly that it dissuades other species from moving into their territory. During the height of the 'trimphone' years they could be heard perfectly replicating the sound of a trimphone call, which drove many phone addicts to distraction.
Look up Stella the starling on YT, she's a brilliant talker.
I worked in a builders yard during the 70s and we had a starling imitating the office trimphone. It made us to laugh to see our foreman run back to answer the phone. He would return out again uttering foul language. By the way something not mentioned is starlings see each other in ultra violet wave lengths ,so having their unique plumage they sparkle and glow like angels to each other.
A bunch of starlings just flew next to my car pecking at the ground, I never really identified birds until I woke up one morning hearing an American robin, black created chickadee, a cardinal, Canadian geese and morning dove and just started documenting them. Always loved birds especially crows
We have been spotting crows in our area -- which is unusual. We do not recall seeing them in past years. And we know they are crows because of their size and their distinctive call. It took us by surprise. They do not come to the bird feeders we put out, but they are high up in the trees and flying over head. I like hearing them.
I have a pair of these nesting in the roof section above my front door. Have been there for a few years now and have had several clutches of chicks. Lovely to see and hear the babies.
Hi matte it's nice to hear you must have a small opening in your roof somewhere that's great you are keeping them going God bless you..Nice one.
You didn't talk about how they can be trained to mimic human voices and also the calls of other bird species.That's so amazing to me, and their beautiful coloration.
Great series of bird vids. Right length and about the right amount of information. Well done!
Thank you!
We had some starlings the other day and we got some new fat balls that were recommended to us. Now we have lots of starlings and we had a juvenile getting fed by a father starling. I found it very sweet to watch and we had some ‘teenage’ starlings and they were scattered across out garden
I found what I thought was a baby bird today. I didn't recognise it so I contacted Wildlife. Ended up it was an adult Starling. Never seen one up close, they are an amazingly pretty bird.
Thanks for awesome video; I have always loved the starling; They're no PEST to me...VERY HANDSOME!
We’ve seen a huge decline in Starling numbers up here in northern Sweden as well. Gone are the autumn days when I used to watch them come in by the thousands taking over our entire neighborhood.
I’m happy to report that we can see an increase in numbers, though.
يتم إبادتهم جماعين في العيراق وسوريا في موسم هجرة شتاء
I had 2 youngsters show up with their parents & vocalize-quite loudly- while sitting on my fence above my suet feeders. This has increased to 5 young starlings & families, they share their thoughts (probably about the need for more suet, mealworms, etc) from dawn to dusk lol. But they are a joy to watch as well as the other birds & critters :)
We have starlings all around us and many pairs brought their babies to our bird tables. This summer one pair ended up with a cuckoo chick. It ended up twice the size of the parents, they could hardly reach his mouth to feed him. I really felt sorry for them. Moreover, we could hear the real parents nearby right up until they flew away together.
It’s taken me 40 years to understand what ‘he’s been cuckolded, meant’.
@@englishcountrylife3805Cuckoos are even rarer than Starlings.
That call of theirs means it's the Middle of Spring.
Last year we had a pair of doves make a nest on the top corner column of my small patio roof. Since that's the only area we can sit privately, my husband put a metal covering over the area, so we could sit without poo everywhere. Today I found that we lost, and somehow a pair of starlings have fit inside and are building a nest. And indeed, they can be furious as a pair of small sparrows tired to take the spot. I feel too bad undoing their work, so I guess they win. *Thanks so much for this video.
We have had a lot more starlings and baby's this year than ever before,they are so cheeky and hilarious, also very clever,
When I was a kid there were flocks of them, went 20odd years and saw hardly any, of late I’ve noticed a few more around.
Some find they annoying: I find them beautiful.
Thanks for the video I recently lost a little starling birdie.I tried to raise the little bird because fell out of the nest. Poor thing died but what a beautiful birds.Wish I could have really helped but it's difficult to taking care of tiny little baby bird.The aerial display of starling is just beautiful.🐤
We have these guys in Canada. One thing I love about them is how they glide for a long, graceful time as they come in for beautiful, effortless landings. Young starlings are very easy to spot, as they do very clumsy things! Lol
Haha, yes, young birds are very clumsy! I hadnt paid attention to the gliding before but will keep an eye out next time I see them.
@@AShotOfWildlife Yeah they definitely need to keep flapping to stay flying at even altitude, etc. But try to observe them when they are coming in for a landing somewhere.
They look like little paper airplanes as they descend. They glide in quickly until they are almost at their landing spot, then do a couple flaps to slow themselves down, before touching down neatly. It always impresses me.
I’m assuming your starlings must do the same thing as ours in that respect. Let me know if you see it!
Nice one Liam. Your narrative style is perfect for these factual videos. Glad you included a bit about how to distinguish the boys and girls in spring and summer.
Another interesting fact is that when they moult in the autumn their refreshed plumage is quite spotty, but gradually wears to the iridescent springtime sheen through the winter. 👍🙂👍
great video thanks.
We have some nesting in our eves, what a racket they made but it was nice to know that their chicks did well and are flying now.
They have also picked our house as their murmuration gathering point this year and cover the roof and gutters in their hundreds, then as one they take to the sky with a great whooshing sound and put on a fantastic display of aerobatics.
I could never get tired of watching these amazing birds.
I always listen for the call of a starling as I walk along the road,usually a sharp penetrating whistle,and I answer the same way.
I had a pair of starlings nesting in my garage gutters a few years ago. We had a pile of old hay/straw and they kept coming and taking bits to put in their nests. Then the chicks fledged and we saw them at the feeders
Are you in the uk? They are a pest here but not going anywhere. Lol. Incredibly adaptable. Noisy bastards
I just rescued a starling, posted videos of his progress. My starling (Europeon for ' little star' ) due to their white stars on their black feathers, my starling learned to fly I put him in a cage, he could see out a window he would not let me feed him any longer, he wanted freedom I had to force feed him for 4 days ~ I decided he would rather die if he could not have his freedom , so today , I turned him loose, we called to each other, he may call to me tomorrow... he shall seek his own.
Other starlings I have raised and set free, but a few , became best pets ever! My 1st starling I tried to turn loose she flew back into the house w/ me, she went out to feed horses w/ me, she flew into trees I called her, she flew back to me... she cohabited with a cat and small dogs, she walked and flew she was so cool!
People think starlings are just pests, but they eat a LOT of bugs in your yard, and they sing beautifully if you ever hear them away from other noise, they have a most beautiful song of any bird, they are actuall Europeon Song Birds, lest you forget ....
Shakespeare ~ read up they starlings were released in Central Park (a certain amount ) their population grew i remember seeing the huge flocks as a very young child 1960s... I know DNR /or government 2 of the same poisoned a lot of them, they do this to other wildlife so I am told, trying to eradicate what they don't want around.. (kind of like how they did to millions of babies ) feticide : the homicide of baby boys and girs (unborn but alive)...
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Bit messy on the car when there's loads of them but I still love watching the big flocks making patterns in the sky
I love Starlings!! We have them here in America!! Some people don’t like them but I think they’re beautiful!! ❤
I absolutely love them and love watching them with their young during springtime.
I have a fledgling starling. He literally sits on my hand and doesnt fly away. Sometimes hell try to fly. But hes new at it. Hes so sweet. I hope he gets very comfortable with me as he gets older
I’ve run out of seeds and put some strawberry jam in my feeder and made some new friends! They’re a little aggressive but they do not hog the feeder as long as another bird isn’t there when they want to be. They sing pretty songs
What a beautiful planet and it's life we live in..
I love the starlings coming to my yard for their mealworm breakfast & dinner! I love the sounds & the families that continue to greet us when we do our yardwork! Between them & the bluebirds the mealworms don't last long!
I love starlings but here in Eccles UK there are far less than when I was young around 1943 millions arrived in Picadilly gardens every winter evening. When I have been in many US states especially Arizona I buy packets of chips (Crisps) and just crackle the bag and hundreds of starlings arrive ! Yes I know there are signs saying "Do Not Feed The Birds) . I just can't resist it, and once in California I shared my lunch from Whole Foods with an enormous and very polite Raven.
I've just happened across your channel and I'm so glad I did. It's brilliant!
I used to live in England and I loved watching the starlings flying around Brighton at dusk. Twas so amazing.
Mozart had a pet starling. It lived for about 22 years. Mozart wrote music for the bird. You can raise them as pets. They talk. They are seen as pests in the USA. But I like them.
I used to see starling mermerations every evening when I was a kid in the 80s. What a wonderful spectacle it was.
Lovely coulers on the birds 🐦
I remember regularly seeing massive flocks of starlings in the evening skies when I was a child and being mesmerised but now I may see very small numbers now and then. it's very sad.
They are unique they push their beaks into the ground and open the beak separating the earth to dig for worms etc
Hi Paul. I didn’t already know this so thanks for teaching me something. I hope the video taught you something too.
@@AShotOfWildlife yes I learned things from your videos too, I’ve subscribed 👍 keep up the great work
Referred to as prying.
They check out everything that way.
A wild fledgling who adopted me.... loved to pry in my hair.
Their huge beaks are what allows them to kill so many of our songbirds.
There is NOTHING good about this horribly invasive species.
I can't stand the sight of them.
I've seen them do this on the bird table to find meal worm and suet amongst the seed.
There are lots at a small shopping centre I visit. They are fearless and cheeky, but very beautiful. Their diet consists of chips fish bread and burger that people drop. 🥰 🇬🇧
Unfortunately I have never actually seen a murmuration, only on line, what a fabulous sight that must be to actually be there.
The nearest I got was a small group of about six that grew to eight flying around some evenings near to where I live.
Amazes me how small their wings are compared to many other birds. Thanks for this, yet another great tutoring video!
The starlings in my part of eastern Canada are amazing mimics. Their vocabulary includes the vocalizations of other birds, in particular robins. They often say a string of other species in one long stream.
They are also invasive
In south Michigan we see them spring through late autumn, then huge flocks heading south I guess, how far I don’t know, just far enough to miss the snow and ice or farther south. Some people dislike them especially in fall as thousands will roost and make a racket!!! I enjoy them
Starlings are amazing little birds. I love them
Those birds overtake my suet feeders and none of the other birds have a chance most of the time. I used to see three different types of Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Sparrows, Chickadees, and even an Oriole or two. I am hoping to see some Red Winged Blackbirds some day as well.
There are starlings that nest in my garage. Every year I say I’ll board up the hole in the roof after the babies leave the nest. It’s been ten years now. It’s a good home for them and we don’t mind
this was great!! i didn’t realize they were insectivores. so we need them as much as bats.
i saw a photo of a brown black speckled bird and could not find it anywhere - and was considering if it were a juvenile. found it here. thanks so much. i’m going to find more of your vids, even though i’m a New Yorker in amurica. we do have starling, also :) 🕊🌷🌱
Hey Alexa, I'm glad you found your bird and enjoyed the video. I hope you like some of the others, there are a few species which I've featured you also get in New York. Cheers
I have noticed when a parent was couching a flight of a small group of chicks. They were changing direction and speed as a parent told them.
They absolutely love mealworms. Today I saw an adult that has been ringed, drinking from the bird bath. Who’s done that I wonder?
Yes, they are famed for loving a mealworm or two hundred lol. I would guess that it would be a local ringing scheme, perhaps it has been caught in a mist net or something. If you see it again, try to get the numbers from the ring and I can find out for you :)
Stunning birds, thank you for the great video.
The decline of Starlings is mainly from lack of nesting sites, mainly roof spaces in our own homes.
It's those horrible plastic soffits & barge-boards etc etc. Ironically it means the air in the house attics gets stale & that can lead to dampbess building up, leading to rot. The same thing affects Swifts, and House Sparrows . 😮
We have multiple tables and tree hanging feeders and have up to 15 at a time visit at once, absolutely my favourite bird
Here in Seattle area, where they are considered invasives, they seem to be reducing a little too. Thank you for this video. I subscribed.
Thank you and a belated welcome to the channel. I hope you have enjoyed some of the other videos I have uploaded, some of those species are also found in the states.
In Australia, starlings are a significant pest, they compete for nesting/breeding sites with native birds and mammals.
It seems to be the same way in a lot of countries including the US. I wonder what you have that suits them more than here in the UK.
@@AShotOfWildlife It illustrates just how adaptable Starlings are. Starling numbers here in South Australia don't appear to be as high as they were in the 60s and 70s. We have nest boxes up for Galahs and Rosellas, Starlings will aggressively compete for these boxes, I shoot a lot of Starlings.
I lived in Australia for 4 months. Was supposed to get married, but escaped 10 days before. That was in 1970. I found the men to be invasive. I would have traded all of them for flocks of Starlngs.Many Australians find Cockatoos invasive pests, when in fact it's humans who've invaded their wild homes. Humans are the most invasive species on the planet.
@@overlander123 You say that with such pride. If you built boxes for Starlings they wouldn't have to compete. Ever think of that? And if you love shooting Starlings, why did you watch this video and take the time to comment? Oh wait, don't tell me. You felt compelled to invade a joyful thread of comments. If only Starlings could shoot back. Now THAT would be a joy.
@@elenalatici9568 I agree, humans are the most destructive and invasive of all species. Australia has a disgraceful environmental record, we haven't learnt much. Sorry to hear your experience in Australia was fairly ordinary. All the best.
Thank you. That was so helpful. I moved into a house a month ago in Winston-Salem, NC (USA), and regularly hear and see two starlings fly to the window with an air conditioner & mess around out there. They're so noisy. I'm wondering what they're up to.
cool!
It would be great to know more about their singing!
Their courting songs are symphonic! Their "protect the babies" song is fierce.
I had a starling once, he'd been rescued and couldn't fly. He was such a funny, mischievous little guy. The wild bird rehab person had told us to cut back on the food, he was getting obese, so we did. Aweek or so later, I was feeding the parakeets in the cage near his, and it was his day to fast (on the advice of the wild bird reahbber) and he startied yelling "Hello! hello!Helloooooo!!" - just like a disgruntled restaurant customer trying to get the waiter's attention. He had never spoken a human word before, but clearly he recognized that "hello" was a word that would get attention of a human.
Loving these videos as much as I love birds. Can you include the songs of each bird please 👏👍
Sure Penny. Check out my recent bird fact files, I include the songs in them now :)
I love the starling’s song
They are great performers. Sometimes it reminds me of the sounds you would get from a circus ground, with the cracks, pops and whistles.
I feed the starlings in my area. Their babies this year are extra feisty.
Great video, mate. Thanks!
Good log keep them coming luv all our native birds Ann n David👍😉
I have over 65 Starlings in my garden bidding the other birds.
Now I have their kids !
Missing the Gold Finches, Blue Tits, Black Birds, Collar Doves , Wood Pigions etc.
My fault for spoiling them with so much food during the winter and summer 😅😅😅
A similar thing has happened to me. They’ve taken all the spruce trees that’s become like a big tower blocks for them. It’s amazing to see them fly in synchrony though. We still have the other birds but they stick to the bushes and hedges now.
They kill native birds....
Brilliant video’s as usual 👍
They can make a laser gun pew pew sound which is quite fun. I've seen them fight a little with wood pigeons for food in our garden lol. The same pigeons have been aggressive towards the crows.
I love the Multiple voice of the starlings. They Sound so great. Pretty Video! Thanks for making and uploading
Very informative. Thanks for sharing 👍
I had a starling that imitated human speech and whistling very well.