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23700 = = = Voice = = = |
169.0427703857422 7 WikiText2 |
23701 The common starling is a noisy bird . Its song consists of a wide variety of both melodic and mechanical @-@ sounding noises as part of a ritual succession of sounds . The male is the main songster and engages in bouts of song lasting for a minute or more . Each of these typically includes four varieties of song... |
49.55791473388672 225 WikiText2 |
23702 Males sing constantly as the breeding period approaches and perform less often once pairs have bonded . In the presence of a female , a male sometimes flies to his nest and sings from the entrance , apparently attempting to entice the female in . Older birds tend to have a wider repertoire than younger ones . Th... |
54.74205017089844 120 WikiText2 |
23703 Singing also occurs outside the breeding season , taking place throughout the year apart from the moulting period . The songsters are more commonly male although females also sing on occasion . The function of such out @-@ of @-@ season song is poorly understood . Eleven other types of call have been described i... |
58.55574417114258 149 WikiText2 |
23704 = = Behaviour and ecology = = |
504.9385681152344 7 WikiText2 |
23705 The common starling is a highly gregarious species , especially in autumn and winter . Although flock size is highly variable , huge , noisy flocks - murmurations - may form near roosts . These dense concentrations of birds are thought to be a defence against attacks by birds of prey such as peregrine falcons or... |
59.54920196533203 198 WikiText2 |
23706 Huge flocks of more than a million common starlings may be observed just before sunset in spring in southwestern Jutland , Denmark over the seaward marshlands of Tønder and Esbjerg municipalities between Tønder and Ribe . They gather in March until northern Scandinavian birds leave for their breeding ranges by m... |
87.2835922241211 114 WikiText2 |
23707 = = = Feeding = = = |
119.32909393310547 7 WikiText2 |
23708 The common starling is largely insectivorous and feeds on both pest and other arthropods . The food range includes spiders , crane flies , moths , mayflies , dragonflies , damsel flies , grasshoppers , earwigs , lacewings , caddisflies , flies , beetles , sawflies , bees , wasps and ants . Both adults and larvae... |
29.633268356323242 181 WikiText2 |
23709 There are several methods by which common starlings obtain their food but for the most part , they forage close to the ground , taking insects from the surface or just underneath . Generally , common starlings prefer foraging amongst short @-@ cropped grasses and are often found among grazing animals or perched ... |
51.61220932006836 142 WikiText2 |
23710 There are three types of foraging behaviour observed in the common starling . " Probing " involves the bird plunging its beak into the ground randomly and repetitively until an insect has been found , and is often accompanied by bill gaping where the bird opens its beak in the soil to enlarge a hole . This behav... |
53.041343688964844 189 WikiText2 |
23711 = = = Nesting = = = |
153.73944091796875 7 WikiText2 |
23712 Unpaired males find a suitable cavity and begin to build nests in order to attract single females , often decorating the nest with ornaments such as flowers and fresh green material , which the female later disassembles upon accepting him as a mate . The amount of green material is not important , as long as som... |
43.544189453125 93 WikiText2 |
23713 The males sing throughout much of the construction and even more so when a female approaches his nest . Following copulation , the male and female continue to build the nest . Nests may be in any type of hole , common locations include inside hollowed trees , buildings , tree stumps and man @-@ made nest @-@ box... |
72.23377227783203 125 WikiText2 |
23714 Common starlings are both monogamous and polygamous ; although broods are generally brought up by one male and one female , occasionally the pair may have an extra helper . Pairs may be part of a colony , in which case several other nests may occupy the same or nearby trees . Males may mate with a second female ... |
34.2989501953125 96 WikiText2 |
23715 = = = Breeding = = = |
151.30369567871094 7 WikiText2 |
23716 Breeding takes place during the spring and summer . Following copulation , the female lays eggs on a daily basis over a period of several days . If an egg is lost during this time , she will lay another to replace it . There are normally four or five eggs that are ovoid in shape and pale blue or occasionally whi... |
26.17174530029297 155 WikiText2 |
23717 Incubation lasts thirteen days , although the last egg laid may take 24 hours longer than the first to hatch . Both parents share the responsibility of brooding the eggs , but the female spends more time incubating them than does the male , and is the only parent to do so at night when the male returns to the co... |
33.100303649902344 260 WikiText2 |
23718 Intraspecific brood parasites are common in common starling nests . Female " floaters " ( unpaired females during the breeding season ) present in colonies often lay eggs in another pair 's nest . Fledglings have also been reported to invade their own or neighbouring nests and evict a new brood . Common starling... |
55.10395431518555 109 WikiText2 |
23719 = = Predators and parasites = = |
1575.8284912109375 7 WikiText2 |
23720 A majority of starling predators are avian . The typical response of starling groups is to take flight , with a common sight being undulating flocks of starling flying high in quick and agile patterns . Their abilities in flight are seldom matched by birds of prey . Adult common starlings are hunted by hawks suc... |
38.979427337646484 213 WikiText2 |
23721 More than twenty species of hawk , owl and falcon are known to occasionally predate feral starlings in North America , though the most regular predators of adults are likely to be urban @-@ living peregrine falcons or merlins ( Falco columbarius ) . Common mynas ( Acridotheres tristis ) sometimes evict eggs , ne... |
57.90805435180664 147 WikiText2 |
23722 Common starlings are hosts to a wide range of parasites . A survey of three hundred common starlings from six US states found that all had at least one type of parasite ; 99 % had external fleas , mites or ticks , and 95 % carried internal parasites , mostly various types of worm . Blood @-@ sucking species leav... |
57.39765930175781 100 WikiText2 |
23723 The hen flea ( Ceratophyllus gallinae ) is the most common flea in their nests . The small , pale house @-@ sparrow flea C. fringillae , is also occasionally found there and probably arises from the habit of its main host of taking over the nests of other species . This flea does not occur in the US , even on ho... |
85.29375457763672 150 WikiText2 |
23724 Flying insects that parasitise common starlings include the louse @-@ fly Omithomya nigricornis and the saprophagous fly Camus hemapterus . The latter species breaks off the feathers of its host and lives on the fats produced by growing plumage . Larvae of the moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella are nest scavenge... |
74.00879669189453 139 WikiText2 |
23725 Common starlings may contract avian tuberculosis , avian malaria and retrovirus @-@ induced lymphomas . Captive starlings often accumulate excess iron in the liver , a condition that can be prevented by adding black tea @-@ leaves to the food . |
106.45940399169922 45 WikiText2 |
23726 = = Distribution and habitat = = |
1273.822998046875 7 WikiText2 |
23727 The global population of common starlings was estimated to be 310 million individuals in 2004 , occupying a total area of 8 @,@ 870 @,@ 000 km2 ( 3 @,@ 420 @,@ 000 sq mi ) . Widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere , the bird is native to Eurasia and is found throughout Europe , northern Africa ( from Moroc... |
47.02591323852539 109 WikiText2 |
23728 Common starlings in the south and west of Europe and south of latitude 40oN are mainly resident , although other populations migrate from regions where the winter is harsh , the ground frozen and food scarce . Large numbers of birds from northern Europe , Russia and Ukraine migrate south westwards or south eastw... |
42.90705871582031 217 WikiText2 |
23729 Common starlings prefer urban or suburban areas where artificial structures and trees provide adequate nesting and roosting sites . Reedbeds are also favoured for roosting and the birds commonly feed in grassy areas such as farmland , grazing pastures , playing fields , golf courses and airfields where short gra... |
39.994354248046875 169 WikiText2 |
23730 = = = Introduced populations = = = |
516.5282592773438 8 WikiText2 |
23731 The common starling has been introduced to and has successfully established itself in New Zealand , Australia , South Africa , North America , Fiji and several Caribbean islands . As a result , it has also been able to migrate to Thailand , Southeast Asia and New Guinea . |
28.938892364501953 50 WikiText2 |
23732 = = = = South America = = = = |
57.03961181640625 10 WikiText2 |
23733 Five individuals conveyed on a ship from England alighted near Lago de Maracaibo in Venezuela in November 1949 , but subsequently vanished . In 1987 , a small population of common starlings was observed nesting in gardens in the city of Buenos Aires . Since then , despite some initial attempts at eradication , t... |
49.269386291503906 122 WikiText2 |
23734 = = = = Australia = = = = |
63.89882278442383 9 WikiText2 |
23735 The common starling was introduced to Australia to consume insect pests of farm crops . Early settlers looked forward to their arrival , believing that common starlings were also important for the pollination of flax , a major agricultural product . Nest @-@ boxes for the newly released birds were placed on farm... |
39.54710006713867 190 WikiText2 |
23736 = = = = New Zealand = = = = |
54.92635726928711 10 WikiText2 |
23737 The early settlers in New Zealand cleared the bush and found their newly planted crops were invaded by hordes of caterpillars and other insects deprived of their previous food sources . Native birds were not habituated to living in close proximity to man so the common starling was introduced from Europe to contr... |
41.86239242553711 105 WikiText2 |
23738 = = = = North America = = = = |
56.48661422729492 10 WikiText2 |
23739 After two failed attempts , about 60 common starlings were released in 1890 into New York 's Central Park by Eugene Schieffelin . He was president of the American Acclimatization Society , which tried to introduce every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare into North America . About the sam... |
55.419960021972656 133 WikiText2 |
23740 = = = = Polynesia = = = = |
105.82073974609375 9 WikiText2 |
23741 The common starling appears to have arrived in Fiji in 1925 on Ono @-@ i @-@ lau and Vatoa islands . It may have colonised from New Zealand via Raoul in the Kermadec Islands where it is abundant , that group being roughly equidistant between New Zealand and Fiji . Its spread in Fiji has been limited , and there ... |
76.21658325195312 93 WikiText2 |
23742 = = = = South Africa = = = = |
60.67757034301758 10 WikiText2 |
23743 In South Africa , the common starling was introduced in 1897 by Cecil Rhodes . It spread slowly and by 1954 had reached Clanwilliam and Port Elizabeth . It is now common in the southern Cape region , thinning out northwards to the Johannesburg area . It is present in the Western Cape , the Eastern Cape and the F... |
42.9478645324707 206 WikiText2 |
23744 = = = = West Indies = = = = |
71.15327453613281 10 WikiText2 |
23745 The common starling was introduced to Jamaica in 1903 , and the Bahamas and Cuba were colonised naturally from the US . This bird is fairly common but local in Jamaica , Grand Bahama and Bimini , and is rare in the rest of the Bahamas , eastern Cuba , the Cayman Islands , Puerto Rico and St. Croix . |
43.710166931152344 60 WikiText2 |
23746 = = Status = = |
662.2064208984375 5 WikiText2 |
23747 The global population of the common starling is estimated to be more than 310 million individuals and its numbers are not thought to be declining significantly , so the bird is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern . It had shown a marked increase in numbers t... |
33.22826385498047 235 WikiText2 |
23748 Major declines in populations have been observed from 1980 onward in Sweden , Finland , northern Russia ( Karelia ) and the Baltic States , and smaller declines in much of the rest of northern and central Europe . The bird has been adversely affected in these areas by intensive agriculture , and in several count... |
28.806167602539062 178 WikiText2 |
23749 = = Relationship with humans = = |
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