this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2025
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Starlings are pretty birds, but they become fully gorgeous when the sunlight hits them right and you see their rich rainbow iridescence
https://www.birdguides-cdn.com/cdn/gallery/birds/Starling3-2.jpg
https://billu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/common-starling-etourneau-sansonnet-colors-couleurs-plumage-bec-feather-beak-black-noir-passereau-habitat-conservation-north-america.jpg
https://billu.ca/common-starling-song-habitat-migration-diet-sound-conservation-winter-range-origin-behavior-skills-canada-invasion/
Did a quick read on wiki and turns out, all the starlings (millions) in North America are descendants of 80 starlings released on 1890 in NYC central park. Crazy
I wonder what things would have looked like if they never had done that!
They also have amazing vocal capabilities, being able to mimic other birds songs and human speech. Studies have found they have some of the highest intelligence and problem solving skills found in birds. And murmurations! Their ability to cooperate in large groups in order to scare off predators is unprecedented. Starlings are endlessly fascinating birds.
They’re also one of the very few birds that federal law allows you to disturb, being such an invasive species.
I think I remember seeing that going after pigeons is allowed also. Though, you may be restricted in how based on the city and/or zoning area.
A European starling called "The Mouth" was able to mimic sounds well enough to reproduce a drawing in the spectrograph:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQCP-5g5bo