How does a starling's plumage change between summer and winter?

In breeding plumage the starling appears a fairly uniform glossy black with a strong iridescent purple-green sheen and a bright yellow beak, but after the autumn molt the feathers develop numerous small white or buff spots across the body and the beak darkens to blackish-brown, giving winter starlings a noticeably more speckled appearance that gradually wears away toward the cleaner, glossier look of the following breeding season.

What exactly is a starling murmuration?

A murmuration is the term for the large, tightly coordinated flocks of starlings, sometimes numbering in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of birds, that perform swirling, rapidly shifting aerial displays, typically at dusk just before settling into a shared communal winter roost. The precise coordination is thought to result from each bird closely tracking the movement of its nearest neighbors, producing complex, fluid patterns without any central leader directing the flock.

Are starlings really skilled vocal mimics?

Yes — common starlings are accomplished mimics, capable of incorporating the calls of other bird species, mechanical sounds, and, in captivity, even human speech into their own varied, chattering song, a talent shared with several other members of the starling family and one that has made captive starlings a notable subject of animal cognition and vocal learning research.

Bird Atlas

Sturnus vulgaris

Common Starling

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The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a glossy, iridescent songbird famous for its extraordinary vocal mimicry and for forming vast, swirling winter flocks known as murmurations.

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latinName: Sturnus vulgaris
family: Sturnidae
wingspan: 31–44 cm wingspanUnit
season: mostly resident; northern and eastern populations partially migratory October – March
diet: Insects and other invertebrates, especially soil-dwelling leatherjackets, Fruit and berries, especially in autumn, Seeds and grain, Human food waste near settlements
conservationStatus: LCLC

Appearance

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a medium-sized, compact songbird with a wingspan of 31 to 44 cm and a body length of about 19 to 23 cm, weighing between roughly 58 and 101 grams. In breeding plumage, adults appear a fairly uniform glossy black with a striking iridescent purple-green sheen that shifts with the angle of light, paired with a bright yellow beak that darkens to blackish-brown outside the breeding season.

After the autumn molt, fresh feathers carry numerous small white or pale buff spots across the body, giving winter starlings a distinctly speckled appearance that gradually wears away through abrasion over the following months, so that by spring the bird has returned to the cleaner, more uniformly glossy look typical of the breeding season — a seasonal transformation achieved without a second full molt.

Range and habitat

The common starling is widespread across nearly all of Europe and extends through temperate Russia into western Siberia; the species has also been introduced, often deliberately, to North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, where it is now well established and, in several of these regions, considered an invasive pest. Populations across the milder west and south of the native range are largely resident, while birds breeding in colder parts of northern and eastern Russia show partial migratory movement, present further south between roughly October and March.

It is highly adaptable, found across farmland, woodland edges, parks, and towns and cities, and shows a strong preference for short grassland and open ground for foraging, combined with cavities in trees or buildings for nesting.

Behavior and lifestyle

Starlings forage mainly by probing open ground, particularly short grass and pasture, for soil-dwelling invertebrates such as leatherjackets, a technique aided by a beak and jaw musculature specialized for opening the bill forcefully once inserted into soil, allowing the bird to part vegetation and locate hidden prey more effectively than many other ground-feeding songbirds. Diet broadens considerably through the year to include fruit, berries, seeds, grain, and human food waste near settlements.

Outside the breeding season, starlings are famous for forming enormous, tightly coordinated flocks known as murmurations, performing swirling, rapidly shifting aerial displays, typically just before settling into a shared communal winter roost at dusk — a behavior that has become one of the most widely admired natural spectacles among common European birds. The species is also an accomplished vocal mimic, weaving imitations of other birds and various environmental sounds into its own varied, chattering song.

Breeding

Starlings nest in cavities, including tree holes, cliff crevices, and gaps in buildings, sometimes competing directly with other cavity-nesting species such as woodpeckers for the best available sites. The typical clutch is 4 to 6 eggs, most often 5, incubated by both parents for 12 to 13 days. Chicks fledge at around 21 to 23 days old, and pairs frequently raise two broods across an extended breeding season.

Interesting facts

Some of the largest documented starling murmurations have involved flocks estimated in the hundreds of thousands of birds, producing dramatic, rapidly shifting shapes in the sky that have been extensively studied by physicists and biologists interested in collective animal behavior and self-organizing systems.
Common starlings introduced to North America in the late 19th century, reportedly as part of an effort to establish every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare, have since grown into a population numbering well over 200 million birds across the continent.
Research on captive starlings has demonstrated a genuine capacity for complex vocal learning and even some understanding of grammatical-style patterns in artificial sound sequences, making the species a notable subject in comparative studies of animal cognition and communication.