Friday Saturday Bird Blogging: The European Starling

The European Starling, from a distance, looks like a black version of an American Robin. It is, however, a pervasive and invasive species in the United States, having started with a mere flock of 100 birds imported from Europe by a group which intentionally introduced it to America because they wanted every bird mentioned in the works of Shakespeare to be present on the American continent.



Despite their dark coloring, their plumage is actually fascinating: a mixture of black and much lighter spots with a fairly captivating pattern. They are fairly voracious and can descend in large flocks and clean out a suet cage in less than a day, if so inclined. This picture is of a pair of starlings sitting in one of our backyard trees as part of a larger flock.