The Most Destructive Birds in North America

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The European Starling was introduced to America in the late 1800s, and has been wreaking havoc on America's ecosystems ever since.

The bird was introduced by a fan of Shakespeare who wanted to introduce every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. Luckily for us, most of his attempts were failures, however, one species of bird made it, and has been wreaking havoc on America's agriculture and the environment ever since.

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More Starling Facts:
They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. Though they’re sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, they’re still dazzling birds when you get a good look. Covered in white spots during winter, they turn dark and glossy in summer. For much of the year, they wheel through the sky and mob lawns in big, noisy flocks.

All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds set loose in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s. The birds were intentionally released by a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare ever mentioned. It took several tries, but eventually the population took off. Today, more than 200 million European Starlings range from Alaska to Mexico, and many people consider them pests.

Because of their recent arrival in North America, all of our starlings are closely related. Genetically, individuals from Virginia are nearly indistinguishable from starlings sampled in California, 3,000 miles away. Such little genetic variation often spells trouble for rare species, but seems to offer no ill effects to starlings so far.

Starlings are great vocal mimics: individuals can learn the calls of up to 20 different species. Birds whose songs starlings often copy include the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Killdeer, meadowlarks, Northern Bobwhite, Wood Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, Northern Flicker, and many others.

Starlings turn from spotted and white to glossy and dark each year without shedding their feathers. The new feathers they grow in fall have bold white tips – that’s what gives them their spots. By spring, these tips have worn away, and the rest of the feather is dark and iridescent brown. It’s an unusual changing act that scientists term “wear molt.”

Starlings are strong fliers that can get up to speeds of 48 mph.
In studies of starlings’ sense of taste, scientists have discovered that they can taste salt, sugars, citric acid, and tannins (bitter compounds that occur in many fruits, including acorns and grapes). They can tell the difference between sucrose (table sugar) and other kinds of sugars – helpful since starlings lack the ability to digest sucrose.

A female European Starling may try to lay an egg in the nest of another female. A female that tries this parasitic tactic often is one that could not get a mate early in the breeding season. The best females find mates and start laying early. The longer it takes to get started, the lower the probability of a nest's success. Those parasitic females may be trying to enhance their own breeding efforts during the time that they cannot breed on their own.

The oldest recorded wild European Starling in North America was a male and was at least 15 years, 3 months old when he died in Tennessee in 1972. He had been banded in the same state in 1958.

Starlings are common around cities and towns. Look in lawns, city parks and squares, and fields. They’ll be working their way across the grass, often moving in a slight zig-zag line and seeming to hurry as they stab their bills into the ground every step or two. In the countryside you’re more likely to see starlings perched in groups at the tops of trees or flying over fields or roads in tight flocks.
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Thanks to Shakespeare we have the worst invasive species in history

zynnertime
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Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but nowhere will man's greed give them rest.

rickjensen
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The Starlings are indeed beautiful. The problem I have is that they built nests on the eaves of my home, we were feeling itchy and didn’t know why, until I called pest control and they removed three large nests, which cost us $600.00, then sprayed our home for another $400.00 to kill the parasites they brought in. Not to mention doctor visits and special shampoos we had to use on ourselves, so a very expensive lesson that these Starlings carry a large quantity of parasites, so it’s better to keep a distance from them. When they start flicking around our area, I plug in a speaker I bought on Amazon, with raptor calls on it. It seems to make a majority of them uncomfortable so they move on. They’re a few determined ones that stay to steal food from my mothers chickens, and she’s had to spend money buying agricultural lime from Tractor Supply and Sevin dust from Walmart, to mix and bathe her chickens from the head down. This treatment was recommended by the vet, and it’s effective. However, it pains me to see my elderly mother wearing a mask and gloves to go pick up her eggs or go near her chickens. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Just can’t keep sparrows, pigeons, and a lot of starlings, away from the chickens. The coop is completely enclosed with chicken wire, and Starlings will bend the wire with their beaks to get in! They also killed the Bluebirds we had nesting in our yard for many years. I am now shocked to see that Starlings will mate with sparrows and other bird breeds, too! The sparrows are so tiny, but it doesn’t stop them. Pest control said the Starlings can raise chicks 3 to 4 times a year, and 6-8 chicks at a time! Amazing and frightening - both, in my opinion!

lizcastro
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Being in the avian field for nearly 30yrs now. And having "hands on" experience with everything from Warblers to Birds of Prey. I can honestly say it's THE WORST thing that could have happened to our nation "bird wise" that is. These pests have caused so much destruction in terms of native species. Between them and House Sparrows i can't begin to account for all the damage i have witnessed them causing various Sparrow, Bluebird, and Purple Martin populations. It was THE WORST introduction of an invasive species. And now native populations are on the brink because of there destruction.

tomtalker
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Wow! 🖤 Starlings are even more bad ass than I already knew. Hardcore birds!🤘

artxmvt
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Starling murminations are a wonder of nature.

fintanduffy
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I have a pet starling that i rescued at 1 day old. She is the most intelligent bird! She even talks. Starlings are not pests. They are birds, just like any bird they are doing what they need to do to survive. Its not their fault they were brought over here.

melindamcclain
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I hate these birds. They killed off all my generations of wild robins who called the trees in my yard home for over fifteen years. I watched the robins during nesting seasons try to fend them off. It was a vicious attack by starlings and the Robins were so upset and I was seeing fighting in mid air. The next year most of the robins were gone. Makes me mad this guy introduced these birds. They are awful!

vaskylark
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I saw these things in Florida over a decade ago swarming people getting out of their cars at gas stations. I thought "fuck this place. Rabid birds, alligators, and grass that hurts to walk on". Now all of a sudden this year I'm seeing those things everywhere where i live and I'm not happy about it.

redveinborneo
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Starling are not invasive here in France. Quite at the contrary, I appreciate the few of them who gather in my garden from time to time, especially in the fall, when they come to feed on the fruits of the vine covering our old farmhouse. Their singing can be great (they can even be trained to mimic human voice very well).
I wonder what keeps them in check in Europe, that does not in NA?

st-ex
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In my garden in the UK I love the starlings and house sparrows on my bird feeders.

alanjohnson
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These little birds make wonderful pets, which the pet stores could implement them as 'PETS' and everyone can stop calling them PESTS, they do eat a lot of invasive bugs, make wonderful pets, if hand-fed, I have one who got out (a rescue) he even flew to me and landed on my arm, if you find babies there are people who often adopt them as pets but make sure they are not just 'killing' them if you adopt them out.

besieged
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I just rescued a starling here in Brooklyn. I can't complain. It's so intelligent and social.

seanogary
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So curious how do they ensure they only poison the starling?

cynjim
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I got one as a pet, he is cool. Found it in my yard one day. Wasnt sure what type of bird it was after about 4 weeks it was clear what it was. So i kept him as a pet. He talks also likes cuddles. So its whatever. Get mad at me dont care.

fuyt
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You got our starlings and sparrows, and we got your grey squirrels and crayfish. Fair swap I'd say. Uk

PortmanRd
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This is so 😂dramatized.rm❤s, cricket❤s mainly bugs.❤starling are bug eaters. Mainly . Geese etc also get into the engine❤s etc. It❤s a tragedy for any bird to die from that traget. You are destroying their reputation. They are smart and make a great pet in fact they talk. I love them. I 😂feed my starling wo

deborahruiz
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My starling is my best friend. She poops on me and pecks at my face.

theronwood
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They are beautiful smart birds that can talk better than the parrots, babies also cute and shy and cuddly like kittens, I saved a baby starling recently, really feel terrible that they get poisoned and called pests, and people in comments bragging about killing the birds without remorse would probably kill anything and anyone just as easily.

JohnGalt
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Without colonizers taking things from their native land there'd be a lot of questions we wouldn't have to ask...go figure.

isaiahagwu