---
title: "What the sources say about the European Starling | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "56 claims from the European Starling profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-starling/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the European Starling (*Sturnus vulgaris*)

> 56 claims from the European Starling profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [European Starling](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-starling/)

## Sturnus vulgaris (common starling). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sturnus_vulgaris/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The iridescent mimic | European starlings are also accomplished mimics |
| Farmland, grassland, towns and cities | savanna or grassland chaparral chaparral Other Habitat Features urban urban suburban suburban agricultural |
| Native mainly across Europe, North Africa and Asia, from Central Siberia to the Azores | Dispersed mainly over its natural Palearctic region (from Central Siberia in the east and the Azores in the west to Norway in the north and the Mediterranean in the south) (note: ADW's own glossary defines Palearctic as 'Europe and Asia and northern Africa') |
| introduced to North America in 1890 | starlings were introduced to North America in 1890 |
| centipedes, spiders, moths and earthworms | The most common animals eaten by the starling are centipedes, spiders, moths, earthworms. |
| berries, seeds and fruit | The most popular plants are berries, seeds, apples, pears, plums, and cherries. |
| It grows to about 21.5 centimetres long | Adult starling males and females mature to a length of about 21.5 centimeters (8.5 inches) |
| native mainly across Europe, North Africa and Asia, from Central Siberia in the east to the Azores in the west | Dispersed mainly over its natural Palearctic region (from Central Siberia in the east and the Azores in the west to Norway in the north and the Mediterranean in the south) (note: ADW's own glossary defines Palearctic as 'Europe and Asia and northern Africa') |
| Starlings were introduced to North America in 1890 | starlings were introduced to North America in 1890 |
| 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 | It uses a "prying" and "open-bill probing" technique to allow them access foods that are protected by tough skins or shells. The birds insert their bill into the food, pry it open by widening their beaks, and expose the nourishment that is found inside. |
| The animals it eats most often are centipedes, spiders, moths and earthworms | The most common animals eaten by the starling are centipedes, spiders, moths, earthworms. |
| its most popular plant foods are berries, seeds, apples, pears, plums and cherries | The most popular plants are berries, seeds, apples, pears, plums, and cherries. |
| Vertebrates are on the menu too | Foods eaten include seeds, insects, vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and fruits |
| Starlings are accomplished mimics as well | European starlings are also accomplished mimics |
| They often copy the songs or sounds of other birds and animals, such as frogs, goats and cats, and even mechanical sounds | often copying songs or sounds of other birds and animals (frog calls, goats, cats), or even of mechanical sounds |
| Males' songs are highly variable: they warble, click, whistle, creak, chirrup and gurgle | The songs of males are highly variable and have many components. They warble, click, whistle, creak, chirrup, and gurgle. |
| tags: omnivore | The omnivorous European Starling can adapt to numerous kinds of food. |
| tags: agricultural | urban urban suburban suburban agricultural |
| tags: urban | urban urban suburban suburban agricultural |

## Starling, Sturnus vulgaris: BirdFacts. British Trust for Ornithology.

https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/starling

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| larger British winter roosts can top a million birds | larger roosts can number over a million birds |
| Mainly soil invertebrates | The Starling mainly feeds on soil invertebrates |
| an adult typically weighs around 85 grams | All adults
85±9.9 g
(73.3-98 g, N=24304) |
| 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 | At close quarters, the dark-looking Starling is a colourful bird; its breeding plumage is iridescent green, blue and purple and it is spotted with silver in the winter |
| A starling that reaches breeding age has a typical life expectancy of 5 years | Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age
5 years |
| BTO's record for a ringed bird, set in 2001, is 17 years, 7 months and 25 days | Maximum age from a ringed bird
17 years, 7 months, 25 days (set in 2001) |
| The starling mainly feeds on soil invertebrates | The Starling mainly feeds on soil invertebrates |
| 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 | Starlings can be found across Britain & Ireland except for the highest peaks. Numbers increase dramatically during the winter months when birds arrive from northern Europe and larger roosts can number over a million birds. |
| In the UK, where it's native, BTO figures show the breeding population fell 61% between 1995 and 2024 | UK breeding population
-61% (1995 to 2024) |
| The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates it Least Concern globally | IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)
Least Concern |
| 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 | The species is on the UK Red List due to a sharp breeding population decline since the 1960s. ... UK Birds of Conservation Concern Red listed |
| weightKg: 0.085 | All adults
85±9.9 g
(73.3-98 g, N=24304) (note: 85 g converted to kilograms) |

## Sturnus vulgaris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22710886A166360937.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-3.rlts.t22710886a166360937.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Globally, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates the European starling Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: category read through GBIF's copy of the assessment, per docs/fact-check.md) |

## Prince, Riede & Goller (2011). Sexual dimorphism and bilateral asymmetry of syrinx and vocal tract in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Journal of Morphology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.11007

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A voicebox with two independent sound sources, which in males handle mostly low notes on the left and higher ones on the right | The songbird syrinx consists of two independent sound sources ... In males, the left syrinx produces mostly low frequencies, while the right one is used for higher notes. |
| Two sound sources, one bird. | The songbird syrinx consists of two independent sound sources |
| The songbird syrinx, or voicebox, holds two independent sound sources | The songbird syrinx consists of two independent sound sources |
| In a male starling the left one produces mostly low frequencies, while the right one is used for higher notes | In males, the left syrinx produces mostly low frequencies, while the right one is used for higher notes. |
| 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% | Males have a larger syrinx with the size difference attributable to increased muscle mass and three enlarged elements of the syringeal skeleton. ... The sexual dimorphism of the syringeal size is smaller in starlings (35%) than in zebra finches (100%) |
| Females sing less often and with a smaller range of songs than males do | Female starlings exhibit smaller vocal repertoires and sing at lower rates than males. |

## Storms et al. (2019). Complex patterns of collective escape in starling flocks under predation. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-018-2609-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| whose flocks can burst into a "flash expansion" after a falcon attacks | flash expansion was the only event occurring solely after an attack and never before it |
| six distinct flock escape patterns under falcon attack | We distinguished six patterns of collective escape by starling flocks in reaction to the peregrine falcon |
| Over two winters in Rome, researchers filmed peregrine falcons hunting flocks of thousands of starlings near two urban roosts | During two winter seasons (January–March 2006 and December–March 2006–2007), data were collected on flocks of European starlings at two urban roosting sites (Termini and Eur) in Rome, Italy. These roosting locations are spaced about 10 km from each other and are both regularly visited by peregrine falcons |
| They distinguished six patterns of collective escape, among them a sudden "flash expansion" and a "wave event" | We distinguished six patterns of collective escape by starling flocks in reaction to the peregrine falcon, namely blackening, wave event, split, flash expansion, cordon and vacuole |
| The pattern depended partly on the threat | the specific type of collective escape depends on the collective pattern that precedes it and on the level of threat posed by the raptor |
| 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 | A wave event was most likely to occur when the predator attacked at medium speed. Flash expansion occurred more frequently when the predator approached the flock at faster rather than slower speed and attacked from above rather than from the side or below. |
| Flash expansion came only after an attack, never before one | flash expansion was the only event occurring solely after an attack and never before it |
| about a quarter of attacks were followed by one | 25% of all attacks were followed by a flash expansion |
| In a study of peregrine falcons hunting starlings at two roosts in Rome | data were collected on flocks of European starlings at two urban roosting sites (Termini and Eur) in Rome, Italy. These roosting locations are spaced about 10 km from each other and are both regularly visited by peregrine falcons |
| a sudden flash expansion was often followed by the flock splitting, but in many cases the flock stayed intact | Flash expansion was often followed by split, but in many cases, the flock showed resilience by remaining intact. |
| The more often the falcon attacked during a hunt, the more often the flock's escape patterns turned up | During a hunting sequence, the frequencies of different patterns of collective escape increased when the frequency of attack by the raptor was higher. |
| 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 | We distinguished six patterns of collective escape by starling flocks in reaction to the peregrine falcon, namely blackening, wave event, split, flash expansion, cordon and vacuole |

## Shimbov & Allain (2022). Smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris preyed upon by European starling Sturnus vulgaris. The Herpetological Bulletin.

https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.46

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| even vertebrates such as newts | European starlings have previously been reported to prey on amphibians, such as newts |
| 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 | On 7 May 2021 at 12:30 h during a walk along Jesus Ditch, Cambridge ... a female starling was observed searching for food ... The starling spent some time trying to subdue the newt before ingesting it ... We thank Rhona Watson for sharing this observation and her video footage with us |
| That single observation is the first definitive evidence of the species preying on smooth newts | the current observation provides the first definitive evidence of S. vulgaris preying upon L. vulgaris (note: 'single' keeps the note's scope: it reports one observation ('the current observation')) |
| 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 | European starlings are opportunistic feeders ... The species' wide geographical distribution, range of habitats, and adaptability of foraging techniques, suggests a diverse diet that includes berries, seeds, and fruits, along with arthropods from the subsoil or soil surface, and even vertebrates |
| Newts had been reported as starling prey before | European starlings have previously been reported to prey on amphibians, such as newts |
| a 2022 note on one starling swallowing a smooth newt in Cambridge, England, was the first definitive evidence of that particular pairing | the current observation provides the first definitive evidence of S. vulgaris preying upon L. vulgaris (note: 2022 is the note's publication year (Herpetological Bulletin 161, per the reference); the observation itself is dated 7 May 2021) |