The
common starling (
Sturnus vulgaris) is a medium-sized
perching bird in the starling family,
Sturnidae. It is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) long and has glossy black
plumage, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal
roosts, with an unmusical but varied song. The starling has about a dozen
subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and western Asia, and it has been introduced elsewhere. This bird is resident in southern and western Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations
migrate south and west in winter. The starling builds an untidy nest in a natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue eggs are laid. These take two weeks to hatch and the young remain in the nest for another three weeks. The species is omnivorous, taking a wide range of
invertebrates, as well as seeds and fruit. The starling's gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the medieval Welsh
Mabinogion and the works of
Pliny the Elder and
William Shakespeare. This common starling was photographed at
Bodega Head on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California.
Photograph credit: Frank Schulenburg
