Starling

Very common, average-sized bird with spotted dark feathers, a long beak und short fan-shaped tail feathers. In autumn, their feathers have lots of little dots, which wear off completely (males) or partly (females) in spring, which gives the bird a darker appearance.

The starling usually lives in the open field or near houses. They breed in nooks und holes and rear five to seven chicks per year. The messy nest is made of grass, straw und leaves. The female lays 5 to 7 light blue eggs, which hatch after 12 to 15 days. The breeding season starts halfway through April.

They breed in large colonies, und like to chatter und whistle in chorus. They usually look for food in swarms on the ground – they run around, drilling for larvae und quarrel all the time. Foraging starlings move in a large flock und can cause a large amount of damage to crops. On the other hand, they also eat a lot of harmful insects.

After the breeding season, starlings form a flock und this flock will fly around for some time before landing in the trees they sleep in. Many starlings migrate to western Europe to hibernate in the autumn.

The bird has been introduced in North America, Australia und New Zealand.