European Starling by APRIL ORTIZ

Native Habitat

april_ortiz14 — 2013-11-18 15:17:02 UTC

Originally from Eurasia and Northern Africa, their breeding range extends form northern China to Iceland and the Azores, all the way south down through Europe to the Mediterranean.

They were first set loose into New York's Central Park in the early 1890's. Of the one hundred starlings released, only 15 pairs survived. They have a wide range of ecological tolerance so they were able to expand and migrate to other parts of the united states.

NICHE

marcus_sargeant — 2013-11-18 15:20:43 UTC

The bird is an aggressive competitor for nesting holes. The starling often takes the homes of the native bluebirds, titmice, nuthatches, swallows, wrens; sometimes even American kestrels. Cats and various hawks are the main predators of the sterling. They are a nuisance humans because of damage to grain crops and because of the noise and droppings from huge winter flocks. The starlings eat various bugs.

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentVersionID=17700

Reproduction

callie_schmit14 — 2013-11-18 15:22:23 UTC

These animals nest two/three times a year (late March-late July). They lay four-six blue/green/whitish eggs and incubate for 12-14 days. The babies stay in their nests for 18-21 days. The nests are made of straw, string, twigs and grass. Adults then feed their children for a few weeks after the babies have left the nest...callie

Problems

callie_schmit14 — 2013-11-18 15:28:44 UTC

They compete with native cavity-nesting birds for nest. They also carry histoplasmosis and salmonellosis which are public health concerns. The birds are also very loud and annoying; plus they build up feces underneath trees which can be problematic. They also can come into direct competition with birds like eastern bluebirds and black-capped chickadees. European starlings are way more aggressive than these other birds. They often kill the other birds in order to get the nest cavity. Plus, the european starlings are very abundant at airports. This causes a problem because they pose a threat to airplane traffic. Sometimes they get sucked in to the jet engines, which can cause expensive and dangerous damage to the airplanes.Their abundance at airports, and especially on runways, poses a threat to airplane traffic...callie

Invading

mark_orjuela14 — 2013-11-18 15:28:47 UTC

The European Starlings were first seen in America !890. They came to America when a Shakespeare fanatic wanted to bring all of the birds mentioned in his plays to the United States. The first flocks were seen in central park and now can be seen anywhere from southern United States to as far as southern Canada. To learn more about there invasive properties please go to http://lib.colostate.edu/research/agnic/starlings.html

Starlings song

marcus_sargeant — 2013-11-18 15:31:05 UTC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARYvynhfViE

How starlings are being removed

marcus_sargeant — 2013-11-19 14:46:25 UTC

the starlings are being removed by covering the food that they eat so they are forced to move. People are also encouraged to own sound producers that repel the birds. Humans also make a lot of noise and make it uncomfortable for the birds to live there. for more info: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Starlings

mark_orjuela14 — 2013-11-19 14:51:36 UTC

For some more information relating to the European Starling you can watch this vidoe:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Starling#p00gfxtb

Pictures of the European Starling

callie_schmit14 — 2013-11-19 14:56:21 UTC

Removing

callie_schmit14 — 2013-11-19 14:57:34 UTC

No new plans to remove the European starling seem to be in progress. Just to continue the processes already in action. These include placement, avoid feeding, timing and exclusion. Placement includes placing boxes in certain areas away from these birds. Avoid feeding the birds is self explanatory. Also, make holes in the boxes small enough where the starling cannot get inside. Plus, don't have your food boxes open until the birds you want to feed migrate into the area. Trapping these birds can also be a good way to get rid of them. After getting trapped, it is recommended to euthanize them...callie