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European (Common) Starling (Original Post) Solly Mack Apr 2014 OP
nice pics! (of a bird that was a big mistake to introduce into the US)... NRaleighLiberal Apr 2014 #1
Thanks! I've never had Starlings in my yard before. This is the first year. Solly Mack Apr 2014 #2
We get lots of starlings now that I put suet out KatyMan Jun 2014 #16
Did you know Starlings can be domesticated and they sing and talk? L0oniX Apr 2014 #3
it's legal since they are invasive. mopinko Apr 2014 #4
I knew they could mimic but I didn't know they could do all that. Solly Mack Apr 2014 #5
Yes! I rescued a baby who had fallen Blue_Roses Jun 2014 #14
That's a wonderful story! NCarolinawoman Jun 2014 #15
Very nice photos. Curmudgeoness Apr 2014 #6
Thanks! They do bathe constantly! Solly Mack Apr 2014 #7
Nice photos! XemaSab Apr 2014 #8
Thanks! Solly Mack May 2014 #11
My husband hates them fadedrose May 2014 #9
I've grown fond of the one in the photos. Solly Mack May 2014 #12
You truly take some wonderful photos of birds, Solly Mack. NCarolinawoman May 2014 #10
Thank you, NCarolinawoman! Solly Mack May 2014 #13

NRaleighLiberal

(59,940 posts)
1. nice pics! (of a bird that was a big mistake to introduce into the US)...
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 06:31 AM
Apr 2014

we are lucky in our area - no Starlings, Pigeons or House Sparrows to knock the natives out of their habitats. Very different from other areas we've lived in!

Solly Mack

(90,740 posts)
2. Thanks! I've never had Starlings in my yard before. This is the first year.
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 06:45 AM
Apr 2014

I've seen them around, just never in my yard.

Not sure what's changed.

I have too many House Sparrows and 3 kinds of Doves. (Inca, Mourning, Eurasian collared). Had a white-winged dove during the early spring and haven't seen it since.

Some pigeons. Mostly near town.

KatyMan

(4,147 posts)
16. We get lots of starlings now that I put suet out
Fri Jun 27, 2014, 11:48 AM
Jun 2014

well, by lots, I mean a half dozen or so at a time. They seem to fight a lot over the food! We mainly get doves tho, mourning and white-winged, and also a fair amount of little sparrows (I assume that's what they are).
Was really excited a few months ago to see a male/female pair of cardinals stop by and grab a bite from our feeder. They never came back tho, so maybe they were traveling. My wife thought I was crazy for being so excited about seeing a cardinal... (we're on 'the prairie' about 30 miles west of Houston).

Great pics! Thank you!


ETA: I read about how they were introduced into the US in the 1890s, that 100 starlings were imported and let loose in NYC, and now all 200 million or so starlings in North America come from those 100 birds. Amazing.

 

L0oniX

(31,493 posts)
3. Did you know Starlings can be domesticated and they sing and talk?
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 09:23 AM
Apr 2014

Lisa, a flight attendant, discovered the baby bird scared and shivering on the jetbridge right outside the airplane door at DFW International Airport. After a ramp worker tells her that he will "throw that thing in the trash can", Lisa scoops him up and takes him aboard the plane, just as the passengers begin boarding.

Because he constantly tried to pop out of his makeshift ice bucket nest, the Captain and crew name him 'Poppy.'

Poppy flew with Lisa and the crew all over the United States- from Florida to Dallas to New York City and back. Earning his 'wings' was an honor for Poppy, especially since he didn't have any feathers.

Poppy has now been adopted to a wonderful, loving home. He sings, whistles, talks and causes all kinds of chaos every day. Poppy just turned 8 on May 20, 2012.

http://www.poppythebird.com/

http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/singing-starling


mopinko

(69,806 posts)
4. it's legal since they are invasive.
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 09:33 AM
Apr 2014

often thought of that as something i could make a quick few buck it i needed to- plunder a few nests around here, and raise up a box full of $100 pet birds.
about 3-4 weeks of intense insanity, then the fun starts.
and they do look awful cool

i am courting a pair of crows. they already caught on that i am feeding them, and calling them, and that i live in that there house.
really hoping to get to k now them, and hope i get to meet some little fledgelings this summer.

Blue_Roses

(12,894 posts)
14. Yes! I rescued a baby who had fallen
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 10:20 AM
Jun 2014

out of the nest, but couldn't find the nest to put her back. She was trembling and cold, because she had no feathers.All you could see was her pink skin.

I scooped her up and searched the web for rehabilitators, but came up short, so I decided to learn how to rehabilitate her myself. The website, Starlingtalk.com gave me a wealth of information.

Come to find out, her leg has a slipped tendon and she can only walk on one foot, so she couldn't be released back into the wild. I named her Molly and have never regretted one day of keeping her. She is so sweet and whistles, while saying, "She's a pretty girl!"

She just turned three years old.

BTW, the way to tell a male from female is the color of their beaks. Males have yellow and females have pink.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
6. Very nice photos.
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 07:09 PM
Apr 2014

I especially like the one shaking water off his head. They are lovely birds, and from what I see in my yard, they are the cleanest birds on the planet----bathing constantly and with relish.

Solly Mack

(90,740 posts)
7. Thanks! They do bathe constantly!
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 07:34 PM
Apr 2014

I've seen 6 squeezing in together and they do this a few times a day.

fadedrose

(10,044 posts)
9. My husband hates them
Thu May 1, 2014, 02:27 AM
May 2014

and it causes an occasional argument..I pay for the bird seed, not him, and I don't like to chase birds.

Looked them up on the web, and there are actually Starling clubs..

They are interesting to watch. In winter they are speckled and their beaks are black, and come spring and summer, they are black with yellow beaks. Their main flaw is that so many of them fly together they clean up all the bird food.

They are useful though. Watch in the spring when a hundred or so land on a lawn and eat all the bugs they can find. I think they follow farmers as the fields are plowed and eat the unearthed bugs. They don't like bird seed, but devour baked goods and suet voraciously, and I make suet, and that's what attracts them.

When too many are gorging themselves, it's easy to chase them. I just wave my hand in the window a couple of times - they are so excitable that they all take off at the same time (and they come back )

NCarolinawoman

(2,825 posts)
10. You truly take some wonderful photos of birds, Solly Mack.
Sat May 10, 2014, 10:54 PM
May 2014

When BIRD WATCHERS' DIGEST was in it's "hey day", they would have grabbed you up fast. Your capturing of personality, plus all the detail, would have been just what they were always looking for. That third one down is a classic!

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