Discover the Common Starling

The common starling, which bears the Latin name Sturnus vulgaris, is a plump bird whose size is similar to that of a robin. The colours that it sports vary from one season to the next: the starling has green-mauve feathers with white marks and a yellow beak in warm weather and darker feathers with light-brown tips and a blue-black beak in cold weather.

The lifestyle of the common starling

Common starling habitat :

Adopting herd behaviour, the common starling lives in forests, at the edges of wooded areas, and in urban environments. This bird nests in trees and has a penchant for the roofs of houses, where it can become a nuisance. In the winter, starlings travel in dense flocks of up to 2,000 individuals.

Common starling diet :

The common starling is omnivorous, which means that it feeds on both plant and animal sources. Although it prefers fruits, berries, and wild or cultivated seeds, it also complements its diet with insects and larvae during the spring breeding season. In an agricultural environment, groups of starlings feed on the food intended for livestock if it isn’t secured or covered.

Common starling breeding :

Starlings nest almost anywhere they can settle, including in commercial buildings. Females lay four to six eggs that hatch after an incubation ranging from 21 to 23 days. Like sparrow chicks, young common starlings leave the nest less than three weeks after their birth.

The risks associated with the common starling

The common starling is a particularly adaptable species, which means that its populations can quickly become invasive. In agricultural environments, starlings, which live in large colonies, eat large amounts of animal feed. Livestock owners find them particularly undesirable due to their white droppings, which also contaminate tons of food. In addition, despite their plump shape, these birds can penetrate buildings by sneaking into holes with diameters of only 2.5 cm. Bird Solution offers bird control products to keep common starlings and other unwanted species away.