Starling facts for kids

This page is about the bird family. For other uses, see Starling (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Starling

Hildebrandt's starling (Lamprotornis hildebrandti)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Suborder:	Passeri
Family:	Sturnidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genera
Nearly 30, see text.

Starlings are small to medium-sized perching birds. They are known for their often dark, shiny feathers that shimmer with different colors. Starlings also make many different sounds, sometimes even copying noises from their surroundings. One of the most amazing things about them is their special group behavior called a murmuration. This is when thousands of starlings fly together in a huge, swirling cloud.

Starlings belong to the bird family called Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word sturnus, which means starling. There are 128 different kinds of starlings, grouped into 36 genera. Many larger starlings in Asia are called mynas. In Africa, many are known as glossy starlings because of their shiny feathers.

Starlings naturally live in Europe, Asia, Africa, northern Australia, and the tropical Pacific islands. Some European and Asian starlings have been brought to North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand. In these new places, they often compete with local birds for food and homes. They are sometimes seen as invasive species. The most common starling in Europe and North America is the common starling.

Starlings have strong feet and fly very well. They like to live in open areas. They eat insects and fruit. Most starlings build their nests in holes and lay blue or white eggs. Some starlings live close to people and can eat almost anything. They often find grubs by sticking their beaks into cracks and forcing them open. This helps them find hidden food.

Starlings make many different and complex sounds. They can even copy sounds like car alarms and human speech. These birds can recognize other starlings by their calls. Scientists study starlings to learn more about how human language might have developed.

What Do Starlings Look Like?
Where Do Starlings Live?
Amazing Murmurations
- Starling Behavior
- What Do Starlings Eat?
Starling Family Tree
Images for kids
See also

What Do Starlings Look Like?

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) has shiny feathers that change color.

Starlings are medium-sized passerines, which are perching birds. The smallest starling is Kenrick's starling, which is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The lightest one is Abbott's starling, weighing about 34 g (1.2 oz). The biggest starling is the Nias hill myna. It can be up to 36 cm (14 in) long. When kept as pets, they can weigh up to 400 g (14 oz). Other large mynas include the yellow-faced myna and long-tailed myna. The longest starling is the white-necked myna, which can be 50 cm (20 in) long. About 60% of its length comes from its very long tail.

Male and female starlings usually look very similar. Only about 25 species show clear differences in their feathers. Starling feathers are often brightly colored and shiny. This color comes from the way their feathers are built, not from special colors in their bodies. Some Asian starlings have crests or feathers they can raise on their heads. Other starlings have long tail feathers or bright patches of color on their faces. The eyes of many starlings are red and yellow, but young birds have much darker eyes.

Where Do Starlings Live?

The chestnut-tailed starling moves to different places during the year, but we don't fully understand its travels.

Starlings live in many different places, from the cold Arctic Circle to the warm Equator. The only places they usually don't live are very dry deserts. Starlings are not naturally found in North or South America or large parts of Australia. However, they live across most of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Aplonis group of starlings has spread widely across the Pacific islands. One species from this group is the only starling found in northern Australia.

In Asia, starlings are most common in evergreen forests. About 39 Asian species live mainly in forests. In Africa, starlings are more often found in open woodlands and grassy areas. About 33 African species prefer open spaces. Europe has fewer types of starlings. The European starling is very common and can live in almost any open habitat. Like many starlings, it has easily adapted to living near people, in farms, orchards, and cities.

Some starlings migrate, meaning they travel long distances. For example, Shelley's starling breeds in Ethiopia and Somaliland. It then flies to Kenya, Tanzania, and Somalia for the winter. Other starlings, like the white-shouldered starling, migrate in some areas but stay in one place in others.

The European starling was brought to North America on purpose in the late 1800s. Groups called "acclimatisation societies" wanted to bring European plants and animals to North America. A popular story says that Eugene Schieffelin wanted to bring all birds mentioned by William Shakespeare to the U.S. While he did release starlings in Central Park in 1890, starlings were already in the U.S. before that. His actions were not just because of Shakespeare's writings.

Amazing Murmurations

Starlings are very social birds. Most starlings gather in flocks of different sizes all year long. They are famous for their amazing swarming behavior called murmuration. This is when a large group of starlings flies together. They move at the same time, changing direction suddenly and without a clear leader.

When the flock pushes, pulls, dives, and swoops, it can confuse predators like falcons. This helps protect the starlings. The word murmuration comes from the soft, low sounds of many wings beating together.

Early studies tried to explain murmuration by saying birds could read each other's minds. But by 2013, scientists found that no single bird controls the flock. Instead, each starling connects with its seven closest neighbors. This creates overlapping groups that share their movements. The birds focus on three simple rules: attraction, repulsion, and lining up with each other. So, the whole flock moves as each bird adjusts to its nearby group.

Scientists also found that a "pancake shape" for the flock works best for sharing information. Thicker or rounder shapes did not work as well. They noted that information moves very quickly across the flock. It also stays clear, like a strong signal. This is because starlings can process information much faster than humans. They can "see faster" than we can. Unlike the children's game of telephone, where messages get lost, almost no information is lost in a starling flock.

Starling murmurations can last from a few seconds to 45 minutes. They can involve a few birds or tens of thousands. Sometimes, other types of starlings or even other bird species join in. The flocks can form amazing shapes and patterns in the sky. In Denmark, where murmurations can have a million starlings, this event is called the Black Sun, or Sort sol. In Ireland, more starlings arrive in winter as migrating flocks come from Europe and Scandinavia.

Starling Behavior

Starlings can copy the calls of many other bird species. They have about 15 to 20 different bird sounds they can imitate. They also copy some sounds that are not from wild birds. They tend to copy sounds from common birds or simple sounds. The way they copy sounds can even be different in different local areas.

Starlings are very social, especially when they gather to sleep. In the non-breeding season, some roosts (places where they sleep) can have thousands of birds.

What Do Starlings Eat?

Micronesian starlings have been seen eating the eggs of seabirds.

Two starlings and an American robin (right) on a grape arbor. Robins and starlings can cause damage to ripening grapes.

Starlings mostly eat fruits and insects. Many species help spread seeds, like those of white sandalwood and Indian banyan trees in Asia and Africa. They also help spread parasitic mistletoe plants. In South Africa, the red-winged starling helps spread the introduced Acacia cyclops plant. Starlings have also been seen eating fruit that has become over-ripe and started to ferment.

Studies on European starlings show they have special body chemicals that help them break down alcohol very quickly. Besides fruit, many starlings also drink nectar from flowers. We don't know exactly how much starlings help with pollination, but some do. For example, the slender-billed starling in East Africa pollinates giant lobelia plants.

Starling Family Tree

The starling family Sturnidae was first named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Starlings belong to a larger group called Muscicapoidea. This group also includes thrushes, flycatchers, and chats. The Mimidae (thrashers and mockingbirds) are thought to be the closest living relatives to starlings. Mimids live in the Americas and have a similar but more solitary lifestyle.

European starling eggs are often blue.

Adult starling feeding its young.

The oxpeckers are sometimes grouped with starlings. However, most evidence now suggests they are their own family. They are an older branch of the starling-mimid group, which came from an early spread into Africa.

Scientists believe starlings likely first appeared in East Asia, possibly near the southwestern Pacific. This is because many older types of starlings are found there. Later, they spread into Africa, where many newer types are found. The oldest starling fossils are quite recent. Scientists guess that starlings and their relatives started to become different species around 25–20 million years ago.

Recent studies show two main groups within the starling family. One group includes the plainer, often striped, larger "atypical mynas" and other Asian-Pacific starlings. The other group includes smaller, often shiny, metallic-colored starlings. These are most common in Africa and Europe. Within this second group, there's a subgroup of "typical" mynas and Sturnus starlings, which are usually not as brightly colored.

The Philippine creepers, a group of three species that look like treecreepers, might also be part of the starling family. Their exact place in the family tree has been debated. It seems unlikely they are closely related to true treecreepers, as those birds have not reached the Philippines. However, their inclusion in the starling family is still being studied.

The order of genera listed below follows older ways of grouping them. This might not be perfectly correct. For example, Scissirostrum seems closer to Aplonis than to Gracula. Also, Acridotheres is among the most advanced genera. More studies are needed to fully understand all their relationships.

As of 2023, the work by Lovette & Rubenstein (2008) is the most recent study on the starling family tree. This classification is also used by the IOC.