Winter Starling (Explore)
The European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) can be an annoying(obnoxious) bird, especially if there are hundreds of them on your lawn. They sometimes mass in flocks that number in the thousands. Though some books say they are great "songbirds", what you usually hear when they are massed is a high-pitched whistle/squeak and something that sounds like croaking (over and over and over from hundreds of birds.) When you approach them, the entire flock lifts off with a loud fluttering of wings.
And yet...look at them closeup and see a very pretty coloring of feathers. This picture shows one in "winter" plumage. Also, their aerial maneuvers of large flocks of several thousand birds can be quite amazing
EXPLORE (#348, 1-13-12)
Winter Starling (Explore)
The European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) can be an annoying(obnoxious) bird, especially if there are hundreds of them on your lawn. They sometimes mass in flocks that number in the thousands. Though some books say they are great "songbirds", what you usually hear when they are massed is a high-pitched whistle/squeak and something that sounds like croaking (over and over and over from hundreds of birds.) When you approach them, the entire flock lifts off with a loud fluttering of wings.
And yet...look at them closeup and see a very pretty coloring of feathers. This picture shows one in "winter" plumage. Also, their aerial maneuvers of large flocks of several thousand birds can be quite amazing
EXPLORE (#348, 1-13-12)