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European Starling bird calling on a branch

European Starling

NON-NATIVE INVASIVE: Starlings are about the size of blackbirds but look a bit chunkier, with short tails and long, thin yellow beaks. Their name comes from the star-like shape they make in flight with their pointed wings.
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Sturnus vulgaris
CLASSIFICATION
Bird
LIFE SPAN
2-5 Years
SIZE
7-9” | .13-.20lbs
STATE CONSERVATION STATUS
  • Unprotected
FEDERAL CONSERVATION STATUS
Least Concern
GAME STATUS
Non-Game
GAME TYPE
None
Group of starlings under a picnic table
Bird nest full of five light blue European Starlings
Large group of starlings flying in a murumuration that looks like a cloud moving over a watery landscape.
European Starling bird calling on a branch
  1. Washoe
  2. Humboldt
  3. Pershing
  4. Churchill
  5. Mineral
  6. Lyon
  7. Douglas
  8. Carson City
  9. Storey
  1. Elko
  2. Lander
  3. Eureka
  4. White Pine
  1. Esmeralda
  2. Nye
  3. Lincoln
  4. Clark

Habitat & Range

European Starlings are non-native birds that are considered invasive in the United States. They have been very successful invasives, probably because they are very well adapted and even prefer human-modified landscapes. They are a very common bird found in all parts of Nevada.

  • Developed Landscapes
  • Grasslands

European Starlings usually raise one or two broods each year. Each brood has three to six eggs, which are a soft bluish, or greenish white. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs for about 12 days. After the chicks hatch, the parents care for them for about three weeks until they are ready to leave the nest and fend for themselves.

These birds are not picky eaters. Their favorite foods are insects and other invertebrates like grasshoppers, beetles, flies, caterpillars, snails, earthworms, millipedes, and even spiders.

When insects are not as plentiful, starlings switch to eating fruit such as cherries, holly berries, mulberries, hackberries, and even Virginia creeper berries. If those are not available, they will eat grains, seeds, nectar, livestock feed, and sometimes even human garbage.

Fun Facts

These birds were originally introduced in the United States in the late 19th century, but they didn't really take off until they were released in Central Park in New York. Starlings will gather in really large groups called murmurations consisting of thousands of birds flying in a giant synchronized mass. It is truly a natural phenomenon! Starlings can mimic the calls of up to 20 different species of birds.
Large group of starlings flying in a murumuration that looks like a cloud moving over a watery landscape.