Species: Sturnus vulgaris

European Starling

Species

Birds

Show on Lists

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Articles:

Marine and terrestrial bird indicators for Puget Sound

December 01, 2013

A December 2013 report identifies marine and terrestrial bird species for use as indicators within the Puget Sound Partnership's "Vital Signs" for ecosystem health.

Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra). Photo by Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Sturnidae

Genus

Sturnus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103906

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Estornino Pinto - étourneau sansonnet

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Sturnidae - Sturnus - Considered conspecific with S. UNICOLOR by some authors and constitutes a superspecies with it (AOU 1983, 1998).

Ecology and Life History

Migration

true - true - false - Resident throughout most its range, but some individuals migrate (mid-February to early March, late September to November).

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Approximately half of its diet is insects; feeds on weevils, cut-worms, beetles, grasshoppers, ants, etc. Also feeds on other invertebrates; spiders, millipedes, earthworms, and snails. Consumes a wide variety of fruits and grains. Avoids high-sucrose fruits (Avery et al. 1995).

Reproduction Comments

Clutch size 4-9 (usually 5-7). Incubation by both sexes in turn, 12-15 days. Altricial, downy nestlings fed by parents for 20-22 days (Harrison 1978). One to 3 broods per year. Female may lay egg in nest of another starling. Polygyny and communal breeding have been documented (see Pinxton et al., 1994, Auk 111:482-486).

Ecology Comments

Nonbreeding: often gathers in large roosts. Often occurs in large mixed flocks with black-birds, cowbirds, and grackles (in summer and fall in northeastern U.S., Caccamise et al. 1983). <br><br>Commonly usurps the nest sites of native cavity-nesting birds (e.g., bluebirds, woodpeckers). However, an examination of Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey data found that few, if any, native species have showed significant declines that could be attributed to starling competition. Only sapsuckers exhibited declines potentially attributable to starlings that were not countered by other data (Koenig 2003).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-12-03

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-03

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

Native to Eurasia; introduced in the U.S. in New York City in 1890. Now breeds from southeastern Alaska, across southern Canada, south through most of U.S. to southern Mexico; also in Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (very local in the late 1980s). Periodically reported from St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Reported casually in Hawaii.

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103906