The "American Acclimatization Society" for European settlers introduced 60 European Starlings in New York City's Central Park in 1890 and 40 more in 1891. The chief champion of these introductions was Eugene Scheiffelin, who desired to introduce all birds ever mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to the United States. Shakespeare's play "Henry IV", the quote “The king forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer. But I will find him when he is asleep, and in his ear I’ll holler ‘Mortimer!’ Nay I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep his anger still in motion” was the only line that provoked such a reckless act. The entire population of starlings now inhabiting the United States are from the original 16 pairs that survived those first two winters. Post-breeding wanderers reached California by 1939 and breeding was established in the state by the 1950's. Starlings within the state now number in the millions.

Breeding: aggressive cavity nester, 2-3 broods per year, 4-7 pale blue eggs

Nesting: cavity fully built up nest of twigs, grass, trash and lined with soft vegetation and feathers. Fastidious housekeeping and fresh green vegetation added daily keep nest free of pests and pathogens.

Incubation: 12-14 days

Fledging: 18-21 days

Adults: 19-22 cm. short-tailed, chunky

Color: black with green and purple iridescence, white tipped feathers when fresh, wearing to all black, juveniles dull grayish brown with cream tipped feathers. long pointed bill, yellow in breeding adult, dark gray in juveniles and non-breeding adults. pinkish legs

Song: A series of discordant, musical, squeaky, and rasping notes; often imitates other birds. Call a descending whee-ee.

Lifespan: record in the wild 20 years, in captivity 17 years

Diet: Mostly insects, some fruit

Habits: Communal roosts can number in the millions, short distance migrant

Habitat: Urban, rural, oak woodland, riparian, open fields, feedlots

Range Occurs from Alaska and Quebec south throughout continent to Gulf Coast and northern Mexico. Native to Eurasia and widely introduced around the world.

Starlings compete with cavity-nesters causing local extirpations of native species, loss of natural cavities to agriculture and urban sprawl further challenge native species. Huge flocks of starlings damage crops, create much noise, and consume and foul cattle and poultry feed. Man generally does not know enough about the cycle of life to mess with the biological diversity of a region without causing irreparable damage, the starling is an excellent case in point.

See the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships Report on the European Starling.

Also look at the links to other starling sites on the Federal Invasive Species program page on the starling.

For a complete history of the invasion read Engines of Ingenuity: Starlings

Kern Introduced Species

Bullfrog      Virginia Opossum       Fox Squirrel   ROCK PIGEON     Spotted Dove    EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE     RINGED TURTLE DOVE      Rose-ringed Parakeet     European Starling     House Sparrow    Hodgepodge of EXOTIC Species

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