Short Description
The starling has a black plumage with a metallic green or purple sheen and often appears in flocks. In its nuptial plumage, the bill is yellow. In its basic plumage, the bill is blackish and the plumage has white to beige tips. In flight, the starling’s wings appear triangular.
Features
Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
black with a metallic sheen
Schwarm: Laute
Tembrock, CC BY-SA 3.0
In the city
Starlings in urban environments are omnivores and also make use of food scraps in human settlements and on rubbish dumps. In town, the cavity-nesting birds use wall recesses and roofs as nesting places. At night, the birds seek out communal roosting sites, often in town centres. At Berlin Cathedral, for example, up to 40,000 starlings roost at night between June and October.
Fun Facts
Starlings can imitate animal voices and sounds. In addition to the calls of other birds, they can also imitate mobile phone ringtones.
From January to September, starlings start to sing approx. 15 minutes before sunrise.
Starlings are migratory birds that can be observed in Germany from late February to October. They spend the winter in the South. However, individual birds to entire flocks also hibernate in Germany.
- Endangerment level Germany: endangered
Sources
Prachtkleid, Marek Szczepanek, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sturnus_vulgaris_2_%28Marek_Szczepanek%29.jpg
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Schlichtkleid, Ian Stannard, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sturnus_vulgaris_-Southsea,_Portsmouth,_England-8.jpg
Jungtier, Garry Knight, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sturnus_vulgaris_-Kensington_Gardens,_London,_England_-juvenile-8.jpg
Page „Star (Art)“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 04.03.2021, 11:52 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star_(Art)&oldid=209438504 (Accessed: 23.03.2021).
Artenfinder (2016) Sturnus vulgaris (Star), URL: https://arteninfo.net/elearning/voegel/speciesportrait/3169 (Accessed: 20.04.2016).
NABU – Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (2016) Vogeluhr, URL: https://www.nabu.de/nabu_vogeluhr2/index.php?iframed=1 (Accessed: 10.02.2021).
Witt, K. & Steiof, K. (2013) Rote Liste und Liste der Brutvögel von Berlin, 3. version, 15.11.2013. : Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. (eds.) Berliner Ornithologischer Bericht, volume 23, Berlin: Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., 1-23.