# Common Starling — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Sturnus vulgaris*

> The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a stocky, glossy black songbird native to Eurasia and North Africa, famous for vast swirling winter flocks called murmurations and for skilled vocal mimicry. Globally common and rated Least Concern, it has declined sharply in Britain and is UK Red-listed.

**IUCN status:** Least Concern (IUCN) globally; UK Red List of conservation concern  ·  **WARN range:** Europe, North Africa, Western and Central Asia, North America (introduced), Australia and New Zealand (introduced)

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Common name | Common starling (European starling) |
| Scientific name | Sturnus vulgaris |
| Family | Sturnidae (starlings) |
| Length | About 19-23 cm |
| Wingspan | About 31-44 cm |
| Weight | About 58-101 g |
| Diet | Omnivorous: invertebrates, seeds, fruit and scraps |
| Typical clutch | Usually 4-5 pale blue eggs |
| Native range | Eurasia and North Africa; introduced worldwide |
| Global status | Least Concern (IUCN); UK Red-listed |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Passeriformes
- **Family:** Sturnidae
- **Genus:** Sturnus
- **Species:** Sturnus vulgaris

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Least Concern globally on the IUCN Red List, reflecting a very large and widely distributed population. Despite this, the species is of serious regional concern: in the UK it sits on the Red List of birds of conservation concern after a decline of more than 80 percent between 1966 and 2004, with similar falls in parts of north-west Europe. It is not listed under CITES.
- **Population:** Global population numbers in the hundreds of millions of mature individuals
- **Trend:** Decreasing globally; declining steeply in the UK and parts of Europe, but abundant and often increasing where introduced
- **Assessed:** 2019
- **CITES:** Not listed
- The Least Concern global rating reflects huge numbers worldwide, but masks severe declines in Britain and north-west Europe driven largely by agricultural intensification and loss of insect-rich habitat.

## Key facts: Common Starling
- The common starling is globally abundant and rated Least Concern by the IUCN, yet has declined by more than 80% in the UK since the 1960s.
- Steep British and north-west European declines have placed it on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern.
- Winter murmurations can involve hundreds of thousands of birds and occasionally more than a million, wheeling in unison before they roost.
- Starlings are accomplished mimics, weaving copied sounds, including other birds and mechanical noises, into their own warbling songs.
- Native to Eurasia and North Africa, the species was introduced to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is often considered invasive.
- It is not listed under CITES, as international trade is not a significant threat to the species.

## What does a starling look like and how do you identify it?
The common starling is a compact, short-tailed songbird roughly 19 to 23 centimetres long, with a wingspan of about 31 to 44 centimetres and a weight of around 58 to 101 grams, so a little smaller and dumpier than a blackbird. In flight it shows distinctive triangular, pointed wings and a fast, direct, arrow-like profile. At a distance starlings can look plain black, but in good light the plumage is richly iridescent, glossed with green and purple. Plumage changes with the seasons: in fresh winter feathering, pale buff and white tips create a heavily speckled, star-spangled appearance, while by spring these wear away to leave glossier breeding dress. The bill is a useful clue, turning bright yellow in the breeding season and darker outside it. Adults walk and run busily across lawns rather than hopping, often probing the turf for grubs. Juveniles are a duller greyish-brown and lack the spangling, which can confuse beginners. The voice is a chattering, wheezing medley of whistles, clicks and imitations, frequently delivered from a rooftop or aerial.

## Why do starlings form murmurations?
A murmuration is the swirling, shape-shifting cloud formed by starlings gathering at dusk before they settle to roost, typically in autumn and winter. Flocks may number from a few hundred to tens of thousands of birds, and exceptional gatherings have been estimated in the hundreds of thousands, with the largest figures cited reaching towards a million or more. The birds turn, ripple and condense in near-perfect coordination, with each individual responding to the movements of a handful of its closest neighbours, so that waves of motion sweep across the whole flock. Scientists think murmurations serve several purposes. Massing together offers safety in numbers, making it far harder for a hunting bird of prey such as a peregrine or sparrowhawk to single out one target, an effect sometimes called predator confusion. The gatherings may also help birds share warmth on cold nights and exchange information about good feeding sites. Whatever the precise mix of reasons, the spectacle is one of the natural world's great free shows, drawing watchers to reedbeds, piers and city centres on winter evenings across the starling's range.

## Can starlings really mimic sounds?
Yes. The common starling is one of the natural world's most accomplished vocal mimics. Its song is a long, rambling sequence of whistles, rattles, clicks, gurgles and warbles, and woven through it are imitations of other species and ambient sounds. Wild starlings copy the calls of other birds, and individuals have been recorded reproducing a sound they had apparently heard only once. In settings close to people, captive and urban birds have learned to imitate human-made noises, from car alarms and telephones to fragments of human speech. Males sing most, and a varied, complex song appears to help them attract mates and defend territory, so mimicry may serve as a kind of vocal display of fitness. The starling's talents put it in the company of other gifted avian mimics such as mockingbirds and lyrebirds. This adaptability of voice mirrors the bird's broader behavioural flexibility, which is part of why the species has spread and thrived across so many landscapes, even as it has declined in some of its native heartlands.

## Why is the starling declining if it is so common?
It is a striking paradox: the common starling remains one of the most numerous birds on the planet, yet in parts of its native range it has crashed. In the United Kingdom the breeding population fell by more than 80 percent between 1966 and 2004, a decline severe enough to place the species on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern. Similar downward trends have been noted in several north-west European countries. The leading suspected cause is agricultural intensification, which has reduced the supply of the soil invertebrates, such as leatherjackets and other grubs, that adult starlings need to feed their chicks. Loss of permanent pasture, changes in farming practice and fewer nesting cavities in modern buildings and tidier landscapes are all thought to play a part. Because the global population is enormous and the bird is abundant where introduced, the IUCN still classifies the species as Least Concern overall. The contrast is a reminder that a healthy world total can mask serious regional losses, and that a familiar garden bird is not necessarily a secure one.

## What WARN does
WARN does not run field projects specifically for the common starling, which is abundant across much of its global range and largely lives outside WARN's five partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free public-education work, helping people understand and value the wildlife around them. The pressures behind the starling's regional decline, especially habitat loss and the disappearance of insect-rich farmland, are the same forces that threaten many of the animals WARN does protect on the ground.

If guides like this deepen your appreciation of wildlife, a small gift helps WARN keep producing free education and protecting threatened animals where it works.

## Frequently asked questions: Common Starling
### Are starlings native to North America?
No. The common starling is native to Eurasia and North Africa. It was introduced to North America when birds were released in New York's Central Park in 1890. From that small founding population the species spread across the continent and is now one of North America's most abundant birds, where it is often regarded as an invasive species that competes with native cavity-nesting birds.

### What is a group of starlings called?
A flying flock of starlings performing its swirling, coordinated aerial display is called a murmuration. The word can also be used more generally for a group of starlings. These gatherings form mainly at dusk in autumn and winter as birds assemble before settling into a communal roost, and they can range from a few hundred birds to flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

### What do starlings eat?
Starlings are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders. In the breeding season they rely heavily on soil invertebrates such as beetle grubs, leatherjackets, spiders and other insects, which they find by probing lawns and pasture. Outside breeding they also take seeds, grains, fruit, berries, nectar and human food scraps. This flexible diet is one reason the species adapts so well to farmland, gardens and towns.

### How long do starlings live?
Most wild common starlings live only a few years, with average lifespans typically around two to three years, as many young birds do not survive their first year. Individuals that make it past this vulnerable stage can live much longer, however, and the maximum recorded age for a wild common starling is nearly 23 years. Birds in captivity may also reach an advanced age.

### Why are starlings declining in the UK?
The UK breeding population fell by more than 80 percent between 1966 and 2004, earning the starling a place on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern. The decline is linked chiefly to agricultural intensification, which has reduced the soil invertebrates that adults need to feed their chicks. Loss of permanent pasture and fewer nesting cavities are also thought to contribute to the fall.

### Are starlings good or bad for the environment?
It depends on context. Within its native Eurasian range the starling is a natural part of ecosystems and helps control invertebrate pests, yet it is declining and Red-listed in Britain. Where it has been introduced, such as North America and Australia, it can be a problematic invasive species, competing aggressively with native birds for nest holes and sometimes damaging crops, so it is widely managed as a pest there.

## Sources
- [Wikipedia: Common starling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling)
- [IUCN Red List: Sturnus vulgaris](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22710886/137493608)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica: Starling](https://www.britannica.com/animal/starling)
- [Cornell Lab, All About Birds: European Starling](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling)
- [Wikidata: Sturnus vulgaris](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25334)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starling