--- title: "European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "The iridescent mimic whose larger British winter roosts can top a million birds, and whose flocks can burst into a \"flash expansion\" after a falcon attacks." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/european-starling-1.webp" published: "2026-08-30" updated: "2026-09-27" --- # European Starling (*Sturnus vulgaris*) > **Status**: Checked against 6 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: The iridescent mimic whose larger British winter roosts can top a million birds, and whose flocks can burst into a "flash expansion" after a falcon attacks. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Hyperpop & Kawaii Future Bass // NewJeans, "Super Shy" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/5sdQOyqq2IDhvmx2lHOpwd) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ePZLn9_lQ) > **Vibe Match**: Tightly drilled group choreography for a bird whose flocks, when a peregrine falcon attacks, can burst apart in a flash expansion or ripple in a wave event, two of the six escape patterns researchers recorded. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Sturnus vulgaris* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-3.rlts.t22710886a166360937.en)) - **Superpower**: A voicebox with two independent sound sources, which in males handle mostly low notes on the left and higher ones on the right, plus six distinct flock escape patterns under falcon attack - **Habitat**: Farmland, grassland, towns and cities. Native mainly across Europe, North Africa and Asia, from Central Siberia to the Azores; introduced to North America in 1890 - **Diet**: Mainly soil invertebrates such as centipedes, spiders, moths and earthworms; berries, seeds and fruit; even vertebrates such as newts - **Tags**: bird, omnivore, agricultural, urban, vocalization-mimic ## Natural History & Behavior ## A Common Bird With an Uncommon Coat The **European starling** (*Sturnus vulgaris*) is a small bird with a big wardrobe change. It grows to about 21.5 centimetres long and an adult typically weighs around 85 grams. The dark-looking bird is colourful up close: its breeding plumage is iridescent green, blue and purple, and in winter it is spotted with silver. A starling that reaches breeding age has a typical life expectancy of 5 years, but BTO's record for a ringed bird, set in 2001, is 17 years, 7 months and 25 days. The species is native mainly across Europe, North Africa and Asia, from Central Siberia in the east to the Azores in the west. Starlings were introduced to North America in 1890. ## Prying Open a Meal The starling mainly feeds on soil invertebrates. For food protected by a tough skin or shell, it uses a technique called open-bill probing: it pushes its bill into the food, then pries it open by widening its beak to expose what is inside. The animals it eats most often are centipedes, spiders, moths and earthworms, and its most popular plant foods are berries, seeds, apples, pears, plums and cherries. Vertebrates are on the menu too. On 7 May 2021, beside a ditch in Cambridge, England, a female starling was filmed spending some time trying to subdue a smooth newt before swallowing it. That single observation is the first definitive evidence of the species preying on smooth newts. ## A Sky Full of Getaways In Britain and Ireland, starling numbers increase dramatically in winter as birds arrive from northern Europe, and the larger roosts can number over a million birds. Over two winters in Rome, researchers filmed peregrine falcons hunting flocks of thousands of starlings near two urban roosts. They distinguished six patterns of collective escape, among them a sudden "flash expansion" and a "wave event". The pattern depended partly on the threat: a wave event was most likely when the falcon attacked at medium speed, while flash expansion was more frequent when it approached fast and attacked from above rather than from the side or below. Flash expansion came only after an attack, never before one, and about a quarter of attacks were followed by one. ## Two Sound Sources, One Voicebox > **Two sound sources, one bird.** The songbird syrinx, or voicebox, holds two independent sound sources. In a male starling the left one produces mostly low frequencies, while the right one is used for higher notes. Starlings are accomplished mimics as well. They often copy the songs or sounds of other birds and animals, such as frogs, goats and cats, and even mechanical sounds. Males' songs are highly variable: they warble, click, whistle, creak, chirrup and gurgle. Globally, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates the European starling Least Concern. In the UK, where it's native, BTO figures show the breeding population fell 61% between 1995 and 2024. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does a starling flock break apart when a falcon attacks? Sometimes. In a study of peregrine falcons hunting starlings at two roosts in Rome, a sudden flash expansion was often followed by the flock splitting, but in many cases the flock stayed intact. The more often the falcon attacked during a hunt, the more often the flock's escape patterns turned up. *(Source: [Storms et al. 2019]())* ### Do male and female starlings sing differently? Yes. Males have a bigger syrinx, the birdsong organ, built up with extra muscle and larger skeleton parts, and the size gap between the sexes runs to about 35%. Females sing less often and with a smaller range of songs than males do. *(Source: [Prince, Riede & Goller 2011]())* ### Do starlings only eat insects? No. Starlings are opportunistic feeders, and their wide range and flexible foraging suggest a diverse diet: berries, seeds and fruits, arthropods from the soil, and even vertebrates. Newts had been reported as starling prey before, but a 2022 note on one starling swallowing a smooth newt in Cambridge, England, was the first definitive evidence of that particular pairing. *(Source: [Shimbov & Allain 2022]())* ### Is the European starling endangered? Not worldwide: the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates it Least Concern globally. The UK is another matter. The British Trust for Ornithology lists the starling as Red-listed among the UK's Birds of Conservation Concern, because of a sharp decline in its breeding population since the 1960s. *(Source: [British Trust for Ornithology]())* ## Sources 1. [Sturnus vulgaris (common starling). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [Starling, Sturnus vulgaris: BirdFacts. British Trust for Ornithology.]() 3. [Sturnus vulgaris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22710886A166360937.]() 4. [Prince, Riede & Goller (2011). Sexual dimorphism and bilateral asymmetry of syrinx and vocal tract in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Journal of Morphology.]() 5. [Storms et al. (2019). Complex patterns of collective escape in starling flocks under predation. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.]() 6. [Shimbov & Allain (2022). Smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris preyed upon by European starling Sturnus vulgaris. The Herpetological Bulletin.]() *Published August 30, 2026. 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