Starling Information and control

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Starling (Sturnus Vulgaris)
			Like the house sparrow, the starling was introduced from Europe in the 19th century. It did not spread as fast and only reached the western coast within the last few decades. Starlings are well adapted to urban life which offer it an abundance of food and nesting sites. It is a muscular bird about eight inches long with long wings and a short squared tail. Starlings are very aggressive and will drive native birds out of their territory, much to the dismay of local bird watchers. Starlings are well noted for their flocking habits. They often gather in the tens of thousands, creating a nuisance when roosting in populated areas.

Height/Weight
7.5"-8.5"
2-3oz
Life span
5-7 yrs. wild
13 yrs captivity
Flight speed
18-40 mph
Range
across country
rural to urban
Food
insects, wild fruit,
seeds & grain
Habitat
trees & building
structures, cactus

The starling is a dark chunky, muscular bird. It is distinguished from other blackbirds by its short tail and its longer, slender bill. Starling plumage varies depending on the season. In winter, the bird displays a highly speckled iridescent coat and a dark bill. In summer, the bird’s coat dulls and has far fewer speckles

Nesting
The Starling is a nesting bird. Their nests are in enclosed areas with at least a 1-1/2 inch opening. Look for their nests in old trees, church steeples and other holes and crevices. Due to their bullying nature they will take any suitable site, evicting any previous owner. They sometimes watch other birds build a complete nest before forcing them to leave.

Breeding
Starlings have two broods a year with four to five eggs a brood. They average eight offspring a year. The eggs are white, pale blue or green-white. Incubation of the eggs takes twelve days. The fledglings leave the nest after 25 days. The young leave to join other juveniles and form huge flocks that move on to other territories.

Cycles
Not a true migrating bird, starlings may move from rural trees to warm city buildings in winter. The daily cycle is one of leaving the nest at sunrise to travel up to sixty miles to feeding areas before returning for the evening. They disperse to mate in the spring. After mating season, they will often coalesce into huge flocks with defined feeding and roosting areas.

Damage
Starlings rank just behind pigeons and sparrows as an urban bird pest. Starlings can be a nuisance in both urban and rural areas due to their nesting, eating and living habits. When the bird is in its flocking phase, thousands of starlings often overwhelm buildings and trees. Large scale buildup of feces from these flocks can lead to structural damage. The uric acid in the feces can corrode stone, metal and masonry. Gutters and drainage pipes clogged with starling nests often backup, causing extensive water damage. The bacteria, fungal agents and parasites in the feces also pose a health risk.

Control
Starlings roosting habits can be modified permanently using 1-1/8" mesh StealthNet and/or electrical systems like Bird-Shock and Birdblaster. For large flocks or agricultural applications, these birds can be moved with a well-timed, organized scare campaign using strategically placed sophisticated audio systems like the Bird Wailer, Squawker, or the Bird-Gard units depending on the size of the area. These products combine natural and electronic sounds like species specific distress calls, predator hunting/attack sequences and canon or shotgun sounds. Other noisemakers such as Zon Guns and Bird Bombs & Screamers often have success in relocating these bird when combined with lights and visual frightening devices that flash such as Flash Tape, Scare Eye Balloons or Octopus. A new technique that has found some success for moving populations from trees is to fog problem areas with ReJeX-iT.

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European Starlings weigh approximately 3.2 ounces; an average starling is about the size of a robin. The adult starling has dark feathers with speckles. Starling bills (both male and female) are yellow during reproductive season (January to June), the rest of the year starling bills are dark. Juvenile starlings have pale brown to gray bills. "Starlings are chunky and hump-backed in appearace, with a shape similar to that of a meadowlark. The tail is short, and the wings have a triangular shape when outstretched in flight." Starling flight paths tend to be direct and swift.

Habitat:

Starlings can be found in various types of habitats "including cities, towns, farms, ranches, open woodlands, fields, and lawns. Perfect nesting habitats would include areas with trees or other structures that have openings that are "suitable for nesting and short grass areas or grazed pastures for foraging. During the winter, starlings live in areas where nesting, roosting, and foraging for food and water is possible.

General Biology:

"European starlings were brought into the United States from Europe. The were released in New York City in 1890 and 1891 by an individual who wanted to introduce to the United States all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works. Since that time, they have increased in numbers and spread across the country. The starling population is estimated at 140 million." Starlings will nest in any cavity of a structure, trees, birdhouses, or cliff faces. The female lays about 4 to 7 eggs which hatch 11 to 13 days after incubation. Young starlings will leave the nest at about 21 days old. "Both parents help build the nest, incubate the eggs, and feed the young." Starlings are not necessarily migratory, but some will migrate up to several hundred miles, while others will remain in the same general area. "Hatching-year starlings are more likely to migrate than adults, and they tend to migrate farther." With the exception of breeding season, starlings generally feed and roost together in flocks. Research has shown that starlings can and will feed miles away from their nests. "Starling and blackbird flocks often roost together in urban landscape trees or in small dense woodlots or overcrowded tree groves. These birds will choose trees that have plenty of perches so that the whole flock can roost together. During the winter seasons, starlings will move into dense vegatation or structures such as barns, urban stuctures, and homes. Starlings always look for protection from the climate.

Damage:

Starlings are considered pests due to all the problems they cause, epecailly around livestock facilities and near urban roosts. Starlings are responsible for "transferring disease from one livestock facility to another. Tests have shown that the transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGE) can pass through the digestive tract of a starling and be infectious in the starling feces. TGE can be transmitted on boots, vehicles, stray animals, or already infected livestock. Starlings cause other types of damage such as consuming cultivated fruits and seeds from a recently planted field. "Large roosts that occur in buildings, industrial structures, or, along with blackbird species in trees near homes are a problem in both rural and urban sites because of health concerns, filth, noise, and odor. In addition, slippery accumulations of droppings pose safety hazards at industrial structures, and the acidity of droppings is corrosive." Starlings that roost near airports create a safety problem, with the possiblity of the bird getting sucked into the aircraft engines. One of the more serious health concerns that starlings have is the "fungal respiratory disease histoplasmosis. The fungus Histoplasma capsulatum can grow in soils under bird roosts, and spores become airborne in dry weather, especially when the site is disturbed. Histoplasmosis, in its most extreme state can cause blindness and/or death. Another problem starlings have created is that they are in competition with "native cavity-nesting birds such as bluebirds, flickers, woodpeckers, purple martins.

Legal Status:

European Starlings are not protected by federal law and in most cases state law does not offer them protection. Local Fish and Wildlife should be consulted before any methods of treatment are applied.

Damage Prevention:

Openings larger than 1 inch must be closed off on buildings and other structures. Netting and hardware-cloth are two ways of closing off cavities in buildings. Eliminate food and water sources.

Acknowlegement:

Courtesy of The Wildlife Damage Handbook