Sturnus vulgaris (European starling)
Written by Wednesday, 20 January 2010 00:00
"Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art.” Izaak Walton
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Sturnus vulgaris (Family: Sturnidae; common names: European Starling; Common Starling; Starling) The European Starling is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae. This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia. It is resident in southern and western Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations migrate south and west in winter to these regions, and also further south to areas where it does not breed in Iberia and north Africa. In the genus Sturnus, the European Starling is the type species, the one with all the typical characteristics of its genus. It is in this genus that the terrestrial feeding technique of open-bill probing is most advanced; the technique involves prying into the ground by inserting and opening the bill as a way of searching for hidden food items. European Starlings have the physical traits that enable them to use this feeding technique, which has undoubtedly helped the species spead far and wide. It is among the most familiar of birds in temperate regions. It is 19–22 cm long, with a wingspan of 37–42 cm and a weight of 60–90 g. The plumage is shiny black, glossed purple or green, and spangled with white, particularly strongly so in winter. Adult male European Starlings are less spotted below than adult females. The throat feathers are long and loose, and used as a signal in display. Juveniles are grey-brown, and by their first winter resemble adults though often retain some brown juvenile feathering especially on the head in the early part of the winter. The legs are stout, pinkish-red. The bill is narrow conical with a sharp tip; in summer, it is yellow in females, and yellow with a blue-grey base in males, while in winter, and in juveniles, it is black in both sexes. Moulting occurs once a year, in late summer after the breeding season is finished; the fresh feathers are prominently tipped white (breast feathers) or buff (wing and back feathers). The reduction in the spotting in the breeding season is achieved by the white feather tips largely wearing off. Starlings walk rather than hop. Their flight is quite strong and direct; they look triangular-winged and short-tailed in flight. It is a highly gregarious species in autumn and winter. Flock size is highly variable, with huge flocks providing a spectacular sight and sound usually occurring near roosts. These huge flocks often attract birds of prey such as Merlins or Sparrowhawks. Flocks form a tight sphere-like formation in flight, frequently expanding and contracting and changing shape, seemingly without any sort of leader. Very large roosts, exceptionally up to 1.5 million birds, can form in city centres, woodlands, or reedbeds. (1) This is a relatively easy bird to shoot, since it is well acclimatized with humans, especially the ones you find in service areas along the motorways, or as intruders in zoos. Birds found in waterlands are a bit more suspicious of human presence but feel more secure if found in large numbers. The first shot was taken in a motorway service area, on our way from Manchester to the Chester zoo (UK). This bird behaved as if we were not there, allowing us to get as close as 3 meters from it. This allowed us to capture all the details of its plumage, something quite difficult in distant shots. The next three shots were taken close to the Attica Zoological Park near Athens. A flock decided to rest close to the bird cages, probably in expectation of food leftovers. It was a heavily overcast day which required exposure compensation to get some detail on the body of the bird. The contrast of the black bird with the gray background and the yellow colour of the plants created very interesting pictures. In the last of these photos three starlings are resting on an electric wire. I thought it was amusing that each one looks at a different direction; this reminded me of the three monkeys (no hear, no speak, no see). The fifth and sixth photos were taken in Strophylia Natural Reserve lagoon and show a large flock of starlings flying over it. In the second photo you can see a rare image. A short-toed eagle found himself among the starlings. Since this raptor is too large and heavy it knows that any attempts to catch a starling is condemned to failure so all it can do is continue its flight in the middle of the starling flock. It should be noted that the starlings didn’t pay any special attention to the raptor too, although they were always alert for smaller raptors which could feed on them. Photos by Marina Parha and George Reclos Shooting Data: 1. Camera: Nikon D300 2. Camera: Nikon D700 3. Camera: Nikon D700 4. Camera: Nikon D700 Photos by George Parchas and Mahi Goula 5. Camera: Nikon D80 6. Camera: Nikon D80
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