Starlings

Again whilst walking home, I came across a beautiful (but entirely dead) bird.

I was having trouble identifying it but luckily, I had Beth the Birder come to my rescue. She correctly identified it as (drumroll please): a starling.

The European starling  was first introduced to North America in the late 1800's by a group called the American Acclimatization Society, whose goal was to introduce to our shores every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works (apparently about 600 species).There is even an article from The New York Times, 1877, recording their efforts here. This bird in particular was mentioned in Henry IV, Part 1 , mentioned for it's mimicry ability.




A diagram of starlings under different circumstances.


The starling can be identified by it's beak, which is long and black (except in mating season, when it turns a bright yellow). It is multiple colours, black and brown, with white flecks across it's head and chest. You may also notice faint hints of green and purple in the plumage just under it's beak.

One of the most interesting, if not distinctive, qualities of the starling is it's call. It makes a range of harsh clicks, hissing and whistling which can hardly be called song. But, it also has an amazing mimicry ability, whether it be other bird calls, songs, or even words (which is it's function in Henry IV).

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