Starlings nesting. The starling is a migratory bird. How many times a year do chicks hatch?
Squad - Passeriformes
Family - Skvorovye
Genus/Species - Sturnus vulgaris
Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Length: 21.5 cm.
Wing length: 13 cm.
Weight: 74-90
REPRODUCTION
Puberty: from 1-2 years.
Nesting period: from April to June.
Carrying: 1, less often 2 per season.
Number of eggs: 5-7.
Incubation: 12-13 days.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: common starlings (pictured) are social birds; In their roosting areas they stay in large flocks.
Food: invertebrates, fruits, other fruits and seeds.
Lifespan: 3 years.
RELATED SPECIES
The starling family includes 108 species, for example, the pink starling.
The starling is one of the most resourceful and largest birds; it adapts quite easily to various natural conditions. He is unpretentious when choosing food. Due to this circumstance, over the past 50 years the range of the starling has expanded and, accordingly, the number of birds has increased, while the numbers of many other species have decreased.
REPRODUCTION
Before the start of the nesting period, large flocks of starlings break up into pairs. Young birds do not nest, remaining faithful to their usual roosting places. The remaining birds create pairs and look for places convenient for nests. In nature, starlings use tree hollows or rock crevices; city birds choose holes in houses, for example, under roofs. The starling's nest is a fairly large cup-shaped structure, built from dry parts of plants.
Birds cover it with grass, moss, feathers and other materials. The female lays eggs at intervals of 24 hours. She incubates the eggs alone. The female starling spends the entire night and most of the day in the nest. Starling chicks hatch naked and blind. Parents bring them insects (up to 300 per day) - complete protein food. In 3 weeks the babies grow up.
LIFESTYLE
For many modern people, the starling is usually associated with a birdhouse - it seems that this is where he lives. However, in fact, in the old days, the starling was a forest bird that nested in tree hollows. Nowadays, the situation in many areas has changed greatly, so starlings are more often found near human habitation than in uninhabited areas. In some regions, they settled on agricultural lands, especially near pastures; birds are often found in cities. Starlings are social birds. In large flocks they go out to feed or return to roost for the night. They often nest in large colonies.
On winter evenings, huge flocks of starlings travel to cities where they spend the night. Starlings gather in noisy groups on tree branches or rooftops. They are attracted to cities by better conditions - the air temperature is slightly higher there, and there are a large number of places protected from the wind.
WHAT DOES IT EAT?
The diet of starlings is extremely varied and depends on the habitat of the birds. In nature, they usually feed on seeds and fruits, collecting insects such as centipedes, beetles and caterpillars in fields and pastures. Starlings sometimes also hunt insects in the air. These birds willingly visit orchards, where they cause significant damage to the crop.
Starlings are the main enemies of viticulture. In cities, they willingly fly to feeders placed in parks and gardens. Bird chicks are fed insects. Many birds that spend the night in the city go to the surrounding area to feed during the day. Early in the morning, flocks of starlings fly out of cities and fly to food sources, sometimes located several kilometers away from their roosting sites. In the evening the starlings return. As the birds approach the city, their flocks increase. Flocks fly to the city in the form of huge black clouds.
STARLING AND MAN
City dwellers do not like starlings because they pollute houses, sidewalks and trees in cities with their excrement.
In parks, trees, alleys and benches can be covered in a layer of excrement with such a strong odor that some parts of the parks have to be closed. In villages, starlings are also often considered pests because they damage crops in the fields. In regions where viticulture is developed, a raid of starlings on a vineyard can lead to the ruin of farmers. City officials and farmers are trying to discourage starlings from certain areas. To do this, they use networks, as well as powerful spotlights and sound signals.
STARLING OBSERVATIONS
The common starling nests throughout Europe. In winter, the number of starlings in southern Europe increases significantly, as migratory starlings that nest in Northern and Central Europe wait out the winter here. From autumn to spring, in some villages and cities in the south, huge flocks of starlings appear, which can number up to a million individuals. In each area they have their own places to stay for the night. From time to time, birds change these areas. The presence of starlings can be recognized by the excrement that can be seen on the ground and sidewalk, and in the evening large flocks of these birds can be observed.
- The starling is an excellent imitator. He can imitate the voices of other birds and other sounds, such as a telephone ringing, frogs croaking, a door squeaking, cats meowing, or whistling tunes.
- Tree branches sometimes break under the weight of a large flock of starlings.
- In some areas, the starling is a welcome guest because it destroys many insect pests. In some European countries and New Zealand, people even build birdhouses for them, hanging them near their homes.
- In recent years, starlings have become fewer in number in Great Britain, Scandinavia, the former Soviet Union and the eastern United States. The reason for this was the reduction of pastures for livestock, where starlings found most of their prey.
DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE STARLING
Flight: flies quickly and smoothly; when catching flying insects, movements are incorrect.
Connector: The nesting period begins with choosing a place convenient for the nest. Birds prefer abandoned hollows, cracks in tree trunks and walls.
Search for food: birds walk on the ground or branches and collect insects with their beaks.
Plumage: black with purple, green and blue metallic sheen; in summer the beak is yellow in birds of both sexes.
- Habitat of the starling
WHERE DOES IT LIVE?
Common starlings are numerous birds inhabiting the whole of Europe and western Asia, and in winter they are found far to the south. Starlings have been acclimatized to North America, South Africa and Australia.
PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION
Starlings have adapted to life in human-altered regions and become one of the most abundant birds in Europe.
Song starling. Video (00:00:37)
I would never have thought that a starling could sing so beautifully in different voices during the mating season. It looks like several birds are singing!
Myna the talking starling. Chelyabinsk. Video (00:00:40)
talking starling. Video (00:07:19)
Starling warbler-2. Video (00:01:51)
What a stupid starling. Video (00:03:11)
Spring. Birdhouse. Starling.
STARLING. Video (00:04:02)
From my own video filmed at the dacha.
Starling. Video (00:04:02)
End of May 2013. The starling held concerts every day calling for females, then flew away without finding a mate.
Common starling. Birds of Brateevograd. Video (00:01:33)
An ordinary and permanent resident of Brateevo and the surrounding area. In the autumn, before migration, starlings gather in large flocks.
The starling lives in the coastal thickets of the Moscow River, in the swamps and open forests of the Brateevskaya floodplain, but not far from the pedestrian paths. During breeding, it looks for hollow trees; starlings have been seen in niches of residential buildings behind the 192 clinic, not far from the feeding area.
In Maryino we saw a starling's nest at the end of Maryinsky Boulevard. In spring, summer and autumn it is seen at the end of Maryinskaya embankment, as well as in the park on the Bratislavskaya street ring.
Starling songbird - preparing the nest. Video (00:05:20)
This year we managed to prepare and install video cameras near the birdhouse and inside the nest. I also installed infrared illumination and a microphone inside.
True, the cameras are only black and white for now. And the recording is carried out only in my presence. But work is already underway to improve this project.
A video recorder will be installed with 24-hour recording. And next season I hope to replace the video cameras with color ones!
Wait for the continuation....
The starling is a small bird, distributed throughout the world, mainly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Species of the family of starlings (Sturnidae), mostly small birds that never reach the size of a jackdaw, are distributed among about 150 species.
The starling is 19 centimeters long, with white spots on a black background, with a purple and golden-green sheen. The feathers are narrow, sharp and more noticeable at the top in autumn, and in spring they are only partly white or light brown. Brown-gray juveniles have a white throat and a whitish chest with blackish spots.
Most of them are tropical birds, and only a few species are found in temperate latitudes. The most characteristic representatives of the starling family belong to the genus Starling (Sturnus), which has about 40 species. These birds have a sharp, almost straight beak, live mainly in the tropical countries of Asia, but partly in Africa, Europe and Central Asia; America and Australia don't have them.
The Central European representative of this genus, our common starling (St. vulgaris), lives in deciduous, mainly oak forests, especially if there is water in or near them and if they intersperse with meadows, fields and pastures.
In addition, it also lives in forest-poor, even treeless areas, for example in the Alps, along the seashores, on islands and in cities, and after hatching its chicks - in meadows with short grass, pastures and compressed fields.
It visits dry areas only on migration. The starling flies to them early - if the weather is favorable, sometimes as early as January, but then he often has to fly back. It appears in greater numbers in February and March; As for the time of departure, many young ones fly away already in June, and the rest in mid-September, throughout October and until the end of November. In favorable winters, the starling winters in Central Europe in individual specimens or small flocks.
The starling nests in tree hollows, cliff crevices, holes in walls, dovecotes and other similar places and willingly settles in birdhouses hung for it on houses or nearby.
In the northern parts of its distribution area, it hatches chicks only once a year; in many areas, starlings breed two generations only as an exception, while in the south two broods are the rule. The nest contains greenish or bluish eggs in the second half of April, and in some areas in June.
During the secondary hatching of chicks, the nest is often lined with green foliage, and sometimes, of course, only in extreme cases, it is built openly on a tree. In September or only in October, the males return to the nest every day, climb in and out, dance with lowered wings, sing and then fly away, as if making a farewell visit to the nest.
The chicks that fly out of the nest do not remain near the place where they were born for long: for example, already in mid-June they fly in large flocks, heading south.
Searching meadow plants and loose soil, it opens its beak with a compass, often follows the plowing villager, and in the fall willingly attacks vineyards.
How does a starling live?
The starling is an extremely lively and active bird. He is never not busy, flies here and there and is so social that he often joins the rooks, jackdaws and thrushes. He walks waddle, mostly walking, sometimes jumping. Its flight is straight, oscillating before landing. He drinks a lot and loves to swim.
In August, starlings begin to gather in groups; in September they form larger flocks, growing into hordes of thousands by the time of the main migration in October. In late autumn, such flocks fly every evening from feeding places to resting places, often over a distance of several hours of flight, especially into dense reeds, with one flock following another.
The birds sing and make noise, greeting each newly arriving flock with a cry, and finally, with the onset of dusk, little by little they fall silent and fall asleep, sitting several at a time on a reed stalk bent under their weight. With the onset of dawn, a new path begins and after sunrise, most of the flock immediately rises in small flocks in all directions.
In its wintering grounds, namely in Southern Europe and North Africa, the starling probably leads the same lifestyle as ours. It is distributed throughout Europe and Siberia, east to Lake Baikal, north to 70° latitude.
However, at present this species is generally divided into several varieties.
Types of starlings
Amethyst Starling
The amethyst starling lives in Africa north of the Sahara Desert. Its lifestyle is no different from that of an ordinary starling. From October, he begins to build a nest and have chicks. In March, the chicks already begin to fly.
2-4 pale blue eggs are found in the nest. The female incubates the eggs for 2 weeks. Then the starlings feed their chicks for about a month. Amethyst starlings feed on insects and the fruits of berry trees.
Common buffalo starling
The buffalo starling is a small bird. It differs from ordinary starlings in its unusual, thick, brightly colored beak and very strong legs.
Swallow Starling
Of the genus Artamus, a member of the starling family, which, however, is distributed as far west as India, most of the approximately 20 species are found in the Australian animal distribution area. Species of this genus combine the properties of starlings, shrikes and swallows, and are especially distinguished by long wings similar to the wings of swallows; They lead a lifestyle similar to that of swallows.
These birds, staying along river banks and in savannas, catch insects in flight, like swallows. Their flight consists of an alternation of wing beats with soaring, but is inferior to the flight of swallows in speed; They either rise high into the air or fly just above the surface of the water. On the ground, short-legged swallow starlings are very awkward. They make their nest in trees, their eggs look like the eggs of shrikes.
The tree swallow starling, equal in size to our swift, is gray above, reddish-brown below, with a white stripe above the eye. Australian short-legged starlings are the bare-eyed starlings (Sphecotheres), distinguished by their bare eye circumference and frenulum; four of their species are distributed throughout Australia and New Guinea.
We have not listed all types of starlings. There are also bronze starling, tree white-headed starling, golden starling, brass, copper, plain, rice, steel (gray), mourning (black) starling, tailed starling.
Red-winged starling
The Red-winged Starling has small red accents on its wings. This is a rather large bird, about 27-30 cm long. With an elongated neck. This species of starling was discovered by Linnaeus in 1766.
You can get a complete picture of this starling by looking at the photo.
This bird was discovered by English naturalist Gerald Waller in 1880. In the determinant it appears as Onychognathus walleri.
It lives in Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia.
Black-winged Starling
The black-winged starling (Acridotheres melanopterus) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. This species is also known as the black-winged mynah or white-breasted starling. Its main habitat is in Indonesia. There are three recognized subspecies of this starling: the nominate species, which is found across most of the island of Java; the tricolored starling, which is restricted to southeast Java; and the third species, which is located in Bali.
The black-winged starling is a small bird - about 23 cm in length. The plumage of this species is striking; its head, chest, back and rump are white, while the tail and parts of the wings are glossy black. The tip of the tail and wings are also white. The skin around the eyes is yellow. The beak is yellow and slightly darker towards the base. The tricolor subspecies is similar to the main one, but has a gray back and very deep black on the wings. And the third subspecies is similar to the tricolor one, with the difference that its black back becomes gray closer to the tail.
The black-winged starling feeds on a variety of fruits, nectar and insects. It feeds in small groups and in pairs, both in trees and on the ground.
In 2010, this species was listed in the Red Book.
Pastor
The starling family is represented in the Caspian region by the pink starling (Sturnus roseus). The predominant color of an adult bird is pink, the head, wings and tail are black, there is a crest on the head; young birds do not have a crest, are brown-gray in color with a whitish throat and indistinct spots on the chest. The length of the pink starling is approximately 21 cm. From the Caspian region it is distributed east to Mongolia, and west to the Danube lowland, where it visits Bulgaria annually, and in some years it is even very common here. In its behavior, the pink starling is very similar to our European starling.
Like the latter, he runs through the meadows and nods, searching them; it also forms flocks in which individual individuals stay, however, not as closely around each other as our starlings. Pink starlings also differ from these latter in that they fly much more and generally behave more restlessly. Yes, they have to fly around vast areas every day to find food for themselves, and also to catch insects in flight, like bee-eaters.
However, the pink starling usually collects insects on the ground. Here he looks for them, like our starling, and like him, he accompanies herds of cattle, sheep and pigs in order to catch the gadflies and horse flies scurrying around these animals.
He also sits on animals, freeing them from ticks and lice, which is why the animals willingly tolerate him. The main food of the pink starling, however, is migratory locusts, which are found in its homeland in whole swarms resembling clouds. According to the Turks, the bird kills 99 out of a hundred of these insects, and eats only the hundredth.
For the extermination of locusts, the peoples of his homeland consider the pink starling almost a sacred bird; here he is guarded everywhere, protected and never killed. On the other hand, the owners of rice fields in India call the rose-colored starling, which, in addition to insects, also feeds on berries, fruits and grains, is a devil's bird and is so afraid of it that they post guards in order to prevent the harm caused by the bird, which appears here in huge flocks. While the roseate starling winters normally in India, it visits Africa only occasionally.
At irregular intervals, the rosy starling visits Italy, France and even England, as well as other countries located between the newly renamed ones and its breeding area. During these flights, pink starlings usually join our starlings and visit the same pastures as them, specifically pastures for livestock. The pink starling is also a social bird, living in larger or smaller flocks, but going to roost quietly and calmly, without the noise so characteristic of our starlings.
In general, the pink starling prefers to choose tall trees for roosting at night, but since there are almost none in its homeland, it has to be content with the thickets of willow trees bordering the banks and river beds. There is always a pink starling’s nest near the water, which is an artless construction made of dry twigs and straws. Sometimes it nests in such huge colonies that, due to lack of space, some pairs have to nest on the ground between grass and stems.
In general, the pink starling builds a nest in hollows of trees, in cracks and holes of steep cliffs and rocks, in ruins and stone walls, in firewood warehouses and piles of brushwood. Occasionally, this bird nests outside its real homeland, where it spends time from late April to August. The fact is that, like other birds of those countries, the pink starling sometimes undertakes mass migrations.
How the starling sings
The starling learns to whistle all kinds of melodies and clearly pronounce individual words, but soon forgets what he has learned, imitating new things. Its song is changeable and long, confusing, consisting of many whistling, creaking, organ-organ-like, cackling and chirping stanzas, calling sounds and imitations of other birds, such as the oriole.
The calling cry sounds like “shter”, among young people it sounds like “shtar, shtar”.
Watch the video about the starling:
The common starling (lat. Sturnus vulgaris) belongs to the Starling family (Sturnidae). This is one of the most common birds on our planet. The total population size is estimated at approximately 310 million individuals, of which about 50 million live in Europe.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as one of the top 100 invasive species. Apart from him, of all the birds, only the common mynah (Acridotheres tristis) and the pink-bellied true bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) were awarded this honor.
Starling in culture
The ancient Greeks and Romans readily kept starlings in their homes, enjoying their onomatopoeic abilities. Aristotle in his writings used these birds as a universal measure for comparing the sizes of different animals. Pliny the Elder claimed that they were able to master human speech and use it for their own purposes.
In the cycle of Welsh stories “The Mabinogion”, Queen Branwen, considered by the Welsh to be the goddess of beauty and love, married the king of Ireland. Unfortunately, the marriage was unhappy and she had to teach the starling Welsh.
The intelligent feathered creature memorized the lengthy message to her brothers and flew across the Irish Sea for help. Having received news from their sister, the enraged brothers rushed to her aid and cruelly taught their Irish relatives a lesson.
In most European countries, until the end of the 19th century, starlings were kept in cages to please the ears and were caught en masse for gastronomic purposes.
Their meat is quite tough, so it was used to make casseroles and pates. In the Mediterranean region, such delicacies remain popular to this day.
The English playwright William Shakespeare in the historical chronicle “Henry IV, Part 1” describes how Hotspur, the son of the Earl of Northumberland, teaches a starling to shout his name in the ear of his captive Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, while he sleeps. Apparently, such entertainment was very popular in those days among the English nobility.
The outstanding Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart also had his own starling. One day he was walking around Vienna and was fascinated by the singing of a bird in one of the shops. In its melody, the genius heard phrases from the Piano Concerto No. 17, written by him a month and a half earlier.
The composer bought the talented performer and was unusually attached to him. Three years later, the pet died. The upset composer gave his favorite a magnificent funeral.
Spreading
The common starling inhabits zones of Eurasia with boreal and temperate climates from Iceland and Norway to Central Siberia and Lake Baikal. The northern border of the range runs from the Norwegian North Cape and the Kola Peninsula to the northeast of the Urals and Western Siberia at 60° north latitude.
The southern border of the range passes through northern Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece, the Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwestern India and Mongolia. There are currently 15 known subspecies of Sturnus vulgaris.
This species was introduced to the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Africa.
In 1890, settlers from Europe brought 50 pairs of starlings with them to New York, 15 of them acclimatized, the rest could not stand the tedious journey across the ocean. Their descendants quickly spread throughout the continent and by 1942 reached the Pacific coast. Currently, they are found throughout the entire space from Alaska to Florida and Mexico, and have reached Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
In 1862, 17 specimens of Sturnus vulgaris came to New Zealand through the efforts of pundits from the Nelson Acclimatization Society. Then they sincerely believed that by bringing animals to new lands, they were doing a noble and useful thing.
Now opinions have changed a lot. The cute birds have become a constant headache for farmers and local environmentalists, destroying crops and displacing rare endemic species. Since 1857, they have lived in Australia, occupying vast territories up to 23° south latitude (Tropic of Capricorn). They are now observed sporadically in New Guinea and Fiji.
In the late 1980s, starlings were released into the wild in the vicinity of Buenos Aires and are now repeatedly spotted in the Argentine capital.
Behavior
Common starlings prefer to settle in lowlands and quite rarely choose highlands up to 1000 m above sea level for their residence. During the breeding season, they appear in forests, parks and gardens, making nests in hollow trees or birdhouses made especially for them. The rest of the time, birds are observed in a wide variety of biotopes. They are not afraid of human presence and appear en masse in populated areas and on agricultural land.
Common starlings feed and migrate in flocks, which become especially numerous with the onset of autumn cold weather.
They most often appear in rural areas, feasting on unharvested harvests or finding food in tree stands and reed thickets. Unlike similar ones (Tutdus merula), they move along the soil surface by walking, not by jumping.
The flight is fast and simple, with characteristic “slides” and strong wing beats. Migrating birds are able to cover significant distances every day, reaching speeds of up to 60-80 km/h and making short stops to eat. During the day, in search of food, they can fly 70 km from general resting places. At night they sleep on tree branches 15-20 cm apart, and in cold weather almost close together.
The starling's singing consists mainly of whistling and crackling sounds. In his songs he often includes imitations of the calls of other birds, such as (Oriolus oriolus), (Picus viridis) and (Hirundinidae).
The feathered soloist pays great attention to mechanical sounds that are interesting from his point of view, including the creaking of doors, the whistling of a kettle or the operation of a diesel engine. The singing male puffs up the feathers on his neck and flaps his wings. His vocal exercises only stop during molting.
Females sing a little less often, mainly in autumn and winter after hatching.
Nutrition
Starlings are omnivores. They feed on food of plant and animal origin. In spring and summer, the diet is dominated by various small invertebrates. They eat beetles, centipedes (Diplododa), caterpillars and jumping orthoptera (Orthoptera).
As autumn approaches, berries, fruits and seeds begin to play a major role in the menu. They really like ripe cherries, plums, sweet cherries, grapes, soft apples and pears.
In winter, birds visit feeders and garbage dumps, when a layer of snow makes it impossible to access their usual food. They often join flocks of larger birds for the sake of profit. In the Azores, they have been spotted several times eating the eggs of the roseate tern (Sterna dougalli).
Every day, one adult eats about 30-40 g of food. Birds obtain food mostly on the surface of the soil, probing it with their beaks and looking for invertebrates. Sometimes they push it deep enough and open it to make the hole bigger. Less commonly, insects are caught flying in the air or from ambush. When choosing a victim, they use taste buds, and release the tasteless trophy from their beak.
Some advanced birds search for food near cattle, sometimes using the backs of animals as an observation post.
The harm of starlings and the fight against them
Starlings during the period of raising their chicks bring great benefits to gardeners and vegetable growers, destroying harmful insects. During mass migrations, they cause significant damage to farmers, visiting their lands in huge flocks.
Their numbers sometimes reach 1 million individuals.
Voracious birds most often destroy unharvested crops in vineyards and olive groves. In their roosting and resting areas, they create unimaginable noise and leave behind an abundance of feces.
From 1950 to 1980 in Western Europe and North Africa, real full-scale military actions were carried out against common starlings. Poisonous and explosive substances were used against them. Millions of birds were destroyed, but this did not bring any tangible economic effect.
Subsequently, less expensive attempts were made to scare the winged gluttons with the roar of firecrackers, blank shots and rags fluttering in the wind. After lengthy experiments, European farmers began to stretch a special net over expensive varieties of grapes and cherry trees, and plant berry crops nearby for alternative food for birds.
Involving their natural enemies to combat migratory starlings remains ineffective. They are able to synchronize their movements when predators approach, like schooling fish, forming various figures or pulsating waves in the air.
Such collective movements confuse the attacker and prevent him from focusing on a specific victim.
Reproduction
In the northern hemisphere, common starlings breed from late March to early June, and in the southern hemisphere from September to November, depending on latitude and climatic conditions. In warm regions they can hatch chicks twice during one nesting season.
Males are the first to arrive at traditional nesting sites and begin to sing intensely.
The choice of females is greatly influenced by vocal abilities and the symmetry of the color of potential partners. Previously, the species was considered monogamous; recently, polygyny has often been observed, when females mate with several males and even throw their eggs into the nests of less efficient companions. Cases of joint incubation of eggs by two females have also been observed.
Birds nest mainly in hollow trees, less often under the roofs of houses or in ventilation holes. The female always chooses the place for the future nest, and she is mainly involved in its arrangement.
Man-made objects are usually collected by families who practice polygyny.
A clutch contains from 3 to 8 eggs measuring 26x19 mm and weighing 6-7 g. The female lays them for 5-6 days. The glossy shell is white or bluish. Incubation lasts 11-14 days. The female incubates the eggs for 18-19 hours a day, warming them with a well-developed brood spot located on the abdomen and lower chest.
In some populations, active egg dropping occurs, so up to a third of the babies are not consanguineous. Both parents feed the offspring. Full plumage of growing chicks grows at the age of about 3 weeks. After this, they feed on parental offerings for another 7-10 days.
Once on the wing, the chicks move on to independent existence. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of two years, some females bear offspring as early as the following spring.
Description
Body length is 19-22 cm. Males weigh 73-96 g, and females 69-93 g. Wingspan 37-42 cm. Beak length 24-31 mm.
The plumage is shiny black, in bright light it shimmers with a greenish or purple tint with characteristic white spots, which become most noticeable in winter. Females have more such spots.
In the throat area the feathers are long and sparse. Young birds have gray-brown plumage without a metallic tint. Adult color appears at 10-12 months. Molting occurs every year at the end of the breeding season.
The tail is short and rectangular. The wings are triangular and relatively long. The beak is matte, brown. The lower limbs are dark, gray-brown.
The lifespan of a common starling in natural conditions is about 18-20 years.
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colored laminated definition tables, including: aquatic invertebrates, diurnal butterflies, fish, amphibians and reptiles, wintering birds, migratory birds, mammals and their tracks,
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pocket field determinant, including: inhabitants of reservoirs, birds of the middle zone and animals and their traces, as well as
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methodological benefits And 40
educational and methodological films By methods carrying out research work in nature (in the field).
Squad Passeriformes- Passeriformes, Family Starlings- Stumidae, Genus Starlings - Sturnus
Appearance.
A short-tailed, shiny black bird about the size of blackbird, in autumn and winter with frequent white speckles. By spring, the light tips of the feathers wear off and the speckles disappear. Young birds are dark brown with a light throat. A typical running bird, unlike, for example, blackbirds that move by jumping. The flight is straight.
The song consists of whistles, creaks, imitations of other birds and various noises. Sometimes you can hear the voices of subtropical birds in the song of a starling returning from wintering. Scream - a variety of meowing sounds, often heard from a flying flock.
Habitat.
Common in open forests, steppes and populated areas. Prefers open cultural landscapes with tree plantations, parks and gardens.
Nutrition. It feeds on a variety of animal and plant foods and, at the end of the nesting period, gathers in large, dense flocks.
Nesting sites.
It nests mainly near human dwellings, occupying artificial nesting boxes made and hung especially for starlings, niches under balconies and roofs, etc. Less commonly, it settles in hollow trees near populated areas.
Nest location.
The nest is located both singly and in small groups. When nesting in the forest, the starling usually occupies the hollows of the great spotted woodpecker, as well as other medium-sized woodpeckers.
Nest building material.
The hollow is abundantly lined with soft stems of grass, sometimes straw and a large number of feathers of domestic and wild birds.
Features of masonry.
The clutch contains from 5 to 8, more often 5-6, bright blue eggs without a pattern. Egg dimensions: (27-32) x (20-23) mm.
Nesting dates.
Common starlings arrive early, usually in March, when thawed patches appear in the fields, and immediately occupy nesting sites. In April, eggs appear in the nests. Incubation lasts 13-15 days. The chicks are then fed in the nest for three weeks. Their flight occurs in the second half of May - the first half of June. In birds, a second clutch is sometimes observed.
After the chicks have fledged, starlings gather in flocks and soon (in July - August) leave the nesting area, moving south and southwest to places with plenty of food. Here they remain until the autumn departure for wintering grounds. And only small groups continue to stay in the breeding areas until autumn. Departure takes place in September - October.
Spreading.
Distributed from the western borders of Russia to Transbaikalia, flies to the south of the Far East. In the north of the range, through agricultural areas it reaches the northern taiga.
Wintering. Winters mainly in North Africa, India, and Southern Europe. It is found in the Caucasus and here and there in large cities, and often flocks of starlings winter in the same squares and parks from year to year.
Economic importance.
In the south of the country, flocks of starlings sometimes cause great damage to orchards and vineyards. At the same time, it destroys various garden caterpillars and slugs, dipterous insects and their larvae (flies, gadflies, horse flies) that harm domestic animals, May beetles, and in steppe areas - various locusts. Considering the benefits of the starling in agriculture, it was settled in North America, where it multiplied and spread greatly.
Description of Buturlin.
The starling is one of the most popular birds. Who doesn’t know the starling, our constant neighbor, the resident of the starling? Even in early spring, with the appearance of thawed patches on the hills, we say: “The starlings have arrived!”
But it is not only the proximity to humans that makes the starling a widely known bird. His appearance and coloring so distinctive that it is difficult to mix it with any other bird. The starling's plumage is generally very dark, almost black, with small light specks, which are more noticeable in the fall on females. The dark color has a brilliant greenish or purple tint almost everywhere, especially on the head, chest and back. The ends of the wings are brownish. Male differs from the female in spring by a yellow beak and more shiny plumage. U females in the spring the beak is dark at the tip, the light specks in the plumage are more noticeable, but in the fall, after molting, both sexes are difficult to distinguish. Young they are easily recognized by the general brown tone of the plumage, lighter on the underside (their throat is almost white). The starling measures about 22 centimeters (total length).
Starling meets in the summer and nests throughout Europe, and in the European part of Russia to the north to Finland and the Northern Dvina, to the south to the Crimea and the Caucasus inclusive. To the east, the starling is distributed beyond the Urals and throughout Siberia, and to the south - in Central and Central Asia (in Kazakhstan and further south).
Over the vast area of their distribution, starlings have several geographical subspecies, differing mainly in the shades of the shiny parts of the plumage. (In European starlings, the top of the head, throat and chest have a shiny greenish tint, alternating with purple). Brilliant multi-colored tones depend not on pigments, but on the special structure of feathers; When viewing starlings from different viewing angles and lighting, the shades change and transform into one another.
The starling shines just as iridescently from afar when it is in the bright spring sun with excitement sings their original songs on the roof or at the birdhouse entrance. The singer stretches out, shakes and flaps his wings, opens his beak wide and desperately squeals, whistles and squeals. But among these unpleasant sounds there are clean and beautiful ones. The starling is a master at adopting other people's voices and all sorts of sounds that he hears. From a good singer you can hear an accurate rendering of the songs of a thrush, warblers, bluethroats, lark, spinning top, oriole, the chirping of a swallow, the cry of a quail, a jay, various predators, ducks, and even the flawlessly rendered croaking of frogs, the creaking of a cart or gate, the sound of a mill wheel to the sound of water , the crack of a shepherd's whip, the clucking of a hen and much more. All this is repeated in a row, patter; finally, squealing piercingly with his beak wide open, the singer clinks his glasses sharply 2-3 times and suddenly falls silent. All sounds heard at the nesting site or at distant wintering grounds in Africa and India are included in songs; in the old singer they reach a very wide variety.
In the first days upon arrival starlings have a difficult time, especially in the more northern parts of their nesting area (arrival in early April). There are still few insects; the ground has only been freed from snow in some places. The return of cold weather and snowstorms sometimes forces starlings to migrate south, but in such cold and late springs many of them die.
However, the weather in spring does not have much effect on the behavior of birds. Sometimes the snow falls in flakes, and the starlings scream at the birdhouses, as if flapping their wings in ecstasy.
In early spring they hunt for earthworms that crawl to the surface of the earth in thawed places, they collect larvae of beetles and other insects that overwintered in secluded places.
The first arriving birds are all males. Females appear a few days later, and then songs and animation reach their greatest extent. By the time the females arrive, the males have already chosen birdhouses, hollows or other places suitable for nests, and now, sitting near them, they sing loudly, fight with their neighbors and attract females in every possible way. After a few days, the pairs have already decided, and preparations for nesting begin. There are indications, confirmed by bird ringing, that starlings sometimes form pairs for several years, and perhaps for life. But it is unknown whether the male and female stay together during the wintering grounds. It is possible that with a high ability for orientation and memory for places, the male and female, arriving separately in the spring, easily find the old nesting site and each other.
Usually starlings settle in in colonies, several pairs nearby. Such colonies reach especially large sizes in groves with a large number of hollow trees or along coastal urems with old alders and willows. In the south, starlings sometimes get into fights with rollers and green woodpeckers over hollows. They also nest at the base of the nests of large predators (for example, the white-tailed eagle in the southern Urals), as well as herons (in the Volga delta). But even in artificial birdhouses, if they are spaced densely, close to one another, as in some villages, starlings settle willingly, in the closest proximity of a pair from a pair. Such nesting density depends, in addition to the social, flocking instincts of birds, also on the way they feed.
Starlings collect feed not in the immediate vicinity of the nest, but fly after it to hunt further away - to large vegetable gardens, threshing floors, outskirts and fields and river banks. These constant flights for food from the birdhouse and back are especially noticeable during the feeding of the chicks. It is usually not difficult to find these favorite feeding places for starlings. Often, especially near villages, such places include large vegetable gardens, cabbage, rutabaga, potato fields and areas of other crops. Here starlings do a lot of useful work at this time, freeing plants from caterpillars, slugs and other pests.
Under construction nests both sexes participate. Birds drag everything suitable for bedding into a birdhouse or hollow - dry stems, hay, straw, moss, chicken and geese feathers, livestock wool, etc.
A well-closed nest does not require much skill and care in construction; it is ready in a few days. The female begins to linger in the nest, sits in it, and the male sings nearby. Full masonry contains 5-6 eggs (sometimes 7) greenish-blue, rather pale in color, without any spots. They are noticeably elongated (about 30 millimeters long). The male does not take much part in the incubation, but sometimes the female flies off to watering or feeding alone, and he climbs into the nest and sits there, occasionally sticking out his long yellow beak.
Hatching day chicks It is difficult to notice, since newborns squeak very quietly and for the first day they live off the remnants of the nutritious yolk in the intestines. But you can find out about the important event that happened if you follow the old birds more closely. They carry halves of shells from the nest in their beaks and throw them nearby. Near a large nesting colony after the chicks hatch, such half-shells are not a rare find.
But already 2-3 days after hatching, the friendly squeaking of the chicks can be clearly heard near the nests, and the behavior of the parents changes noticeably. Their feeding flights become more frequent, and both fly separately, taking turns bringing food to the chicks. From early morning feeding goes most diligently, around 10-11 o'clock the parents disappear for half an hour - an hour (flying off to a watering hole, swimming or to a more distant foraging), and then, after returning with prey, feeding weakens in the middle of the day and resumes with renewed vigor in the evening. During the day, parents fly for food many dozens of times and spend a lot of energy on this. According to some observations, in the midst of feeding the chicks, old birds sometimes even fall to the ground from fatigue. The work is really big: before flying, the grown chicks almost always ask for food, sticking their heads out of the hole in the hollow or birdhouse. One will receive food, calm down for five minutes, and in its place, closer to the exit, another will already climb, and again a yellow-mouthed head with a whitish neck sticks out of the entrance. The arrival of the father or mother is met with a loud, sharp cry.
Grown-up chicks are fed by larger insects, which the parents sometimes give whole (beetles, grasshoppers, large caterpillars). Snails are also eaten.
Flight from the nest occurs on the fourteenth to fifteenth day, but it is not so easy for parents to lure the young out and force them to fly out. They tenaciously hold on to the edge of the entrance, and only hunger makes them decide to take their first flight. The parents “lure” the young in every possible way, spinning around with food in their beaks near the nest, without flying up to it, animatedly screaming and fussing around. Sometimes other starlings fly to the chicks, ready to fly, with food, but do not give it away, but only show it.
But finally, the young ones fly out, move to pastures, vacant lots, vegetable gardens (most often near rivers) and sit in trees, waiting for their parents. Parents bring food to the fledglings, but do not always give it to them, and often throw it in front of the young so that they get used to grabbing prey themselves. They do this, for example, with cockchafers and their larvae.
In more southern areas (south of the Moscow region), old starlings usually begin their second hatching (at the end of June). At this time, the young, with single old individuals, fly in flocks and feed in pastures, riverine meadows and wastelands, usually gathering for the night in coastal willows and reeds.
But they reach especially large sizes flocks starlings even later - in July, August - in open or steppe places, for example along the Lower Volga, in the North Caucasus. A flock consisting of many thousands of individuals appears from a distance as a rapidly rushing cloud. The remarkable coordination of movements of all its members attracts attention. Hundreds of birds simultaneously make turns, switch to soaring flight and all descend to the ground together. Having descended, the flock scatters over a large area, and the birds quickly run across (usually in one direction), busily and deftly examining the grass and all the depressions in the ground with their long beaks. Summer flocks of starlings willingly search for food in livestock pastures or even among resting herds. They remove dung beetles and fly larvae from droppings. Sometimes you can see 2-3 starlings walking on the backs of cows or sheep, collecting insects in their fur.
During the summer and autumn migrations in the south of Russia, starlings bring some harm attack on vineyards. But along with the berries, they also eat insect pests.
In July - August, starlings molt, and then begin departure for the winter. Banding has established that young individuals fly away earlier than older ones, sometimes as early as July, migrating in a certain (southwestern) direction. At the beginning of October, flights are already taking place everywhere. Interestingly, before leaving, starlings return to their birdhouses and sing near them, as if they are about to nest again. But after a day or two they disappear.
From European nesting grounds, starlings fly mainly to North Africa - to Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, but only partially wintering also occurs in Crimea, the Caucasus and Southern Europe. Siberian and Central Asian starlings winter in India. In wintering grounds, starlings also lead a gregarious lifestyle. The singing does not stop (especially in spring), and the young people learn a lot from the old people.
Despite some harmful activity in autumn (in vineyards and orchards), the starling is undoubtedly very useful a bird that should be protected and attracted in every possible way. It deserves this as a destroyer of various garden caterpillars and slugs, dipterous insects and their larvae (flies, gadflies, horse flies) that harm domestic animals, May beetles, and in steppe areas - various locusts. For this, he can be forgiven for attacks on cherries, grapes and other berries in the fall. Considering the benefits of the starling in agriculture, it was settled in North America, where it multiplied and spread greatly.
Urbanization, deforestation, and industrial development are increasingly affecting the starlings' habitat. It seems that the spring appearance of these seemingly inexpressive birds is as inevitable as the melting of snow, but recent research by experts is extremely alarming. Widespread industrialization is driving many species of songbirds out of cities, causing a rapid decline in starling populations.
The coloration of starlings deserves special attention, because it changes depending on the age of the birds and the onset of the mating season.
The task of modern man is to protect the habitat of migratory birds so that they return again and again, announcing with their trills the arrival of warmth.
Despite the decline in population, the range of residence of starlings is very wide Variegated inhabitants of birch groves
Almost everyone in childhood made birdhouses and nailed them to tree trunks, but not everyone knows what a starling actually looks like. This was facilitated by the birds’ amazing ability to change color throughout the year and the similarity in appearance with blackbirds.
Starlings are medium-sized birds, the body length of which, depending on the species, ranges from 18 to 22 cm. Weight is about 100 g. The body is dense, elongated, the head is small, slightly compressed at the sides. Individuals have a smooth, strong, elongated beak with a pointed and slightly flattened tip.
Adult starlings have wide wings at the base and tapering towards the ends with a span of up to 40 cm, a straight short tail covered with lower coverts, strong legs with long claws. Young animals that have not matured to molt have wings rounded at the ends. Chicks are not distinguished by such brilliant plumage as mature individuals.
The coloration of starlings deserves special attention, because it changes depending on the age of the birds and the onset of the mating season. Males and females of most species have dark, black-brown or brownish plumage with a pronounced metallic sheen. With the onset of cold weather, noticeable cream or white spots appear on the surface of the feathers (large ones on the chest and wings and small ones on the head). The specks disappear after the spring molt.
