Please don't let me be misunderstood.
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Every European Starling in North America descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s when a group decided to introduce America to all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's work. Thanks to this rather ill-informed idea, you can now find over 200 million European Starlings across much of North America and the US Department of Agriculture has named them an invasive species. I can think of a far more invasive species. How about you?
WATCH VIDEO: Starling Invasion Down Under
What Would a Starling Say?
5 Ways to Perceive a Starling
1. Invasive
The US Department of Agriculture has named the European Starling an invasive species because it "competes with native species and destroys crops." Also, critics say, large flocks can "overwhelm buildings and trees with a large scale buildup of feces where the uric acid content causes corrosion to stone, metal, and masonry. Gutters and down pipes clogged with starling nests often become blocked, leading to water damage. Bacteria, fungus, and parasites in the feces pose a health risk."
2. In a (Very) Large Group
A group of starlings is known as a "constellation" or a "filth" or a "murmuration" or a "scourge" or a "vulgarity." Whatever term you may use, starling flocks often number in the tens of thousands.
3. Mimics
The next time you hear warbling, gurgling, chirruping, and clicking noises, it just might be a European Starling. These birds often imitate many other species (animals as well as birds), along with manmade sounds like car alarms and telephones. 4. Literary Even Shakespeare was impressed with the mimicking ability of the starling and worked it into Henry IV, Part 1. Hotspur is contemplating driving King Henry nuts by having a starling repeat the name of Hotspur's brother-in-law Mortimer, whom Henry refuses to ransom out of prisoner status. Hotspur sez: "Nay, I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but 'Mortimer.'" 5. Misunderstood I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in a world where a resilient mimic of a bird is valued above stone, metal, and masonry.
