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Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernOmnivoreUrbanCavity nestMedium · 77 g
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 1
Photo: Sheila S · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 2
Photo: Sheila S · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 3
Photo: Chris Stahl · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 4
Photo: Chris Stahl · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 5
Photo: Andrew Skotnicki · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 6
Photo: Priya Sandhu · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 7
Photo: Priya Sandhu · CC BY 4.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 8
Photo: Ingrid Taylar · CC BY 2.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 9
Photo: PierreSelim · CC BY 3.0
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), photo 10
Photo: Sheila S · CC BY 4.0

What the Common Starling sounds like

Sonogram of the Common Starling: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call · Courtils, Manche, Normandie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Common Starling: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Call, song · Arrondissement de la Roche-sur-Yon (near La Roche-sur-Yon), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Common Starling: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Call, song · Arrondissement de la Roche-sur-Yon (near La Roche-sur-Yon), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The common starling is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 31–44 cm (12–17 in) and a weight of 58–101 g (2.0–3.6 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 11.8 to 13.8 cm (4.6 to 5.4 in), the tail is 5.8 to 6.8 cm (2.3 to 2.7 in), the culmen is 2.5 to 3.2 cm (0.98 to 1.26 in) and the tarsus is 2.7 to 3.2 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in). The plumage is iridescent black, glossed purple or green, and spangled with white, especially in winter. The underparts of adult male common starlings are less spotted than those of adult females at a given time of year. Voice: The common starling is noisy, its song consisting of a wide variety of both melodic and mechanical-sounding noises as part of a ritual succession of sounds. The male is the main songster and engages in bouts of song lasting for a minute or more. Each of these typically includes four varieties of song type, which follow each other in a regular order without pause.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Common Starling

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Common Starling

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 118 countries with regular records, and 4 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

United States Canada Sweden France United Kingdom Australia Germany Norway Finland New Zealand Belgium Spain South Africa Netherlands Argentina Czechia Ireland Poland Portugal Türkiye Italy Switzerland Mexico Russia Austria Bermuda Iceland Luxembourg Bulgaria Ukraine Hungary Greece Denmark Uruguay Israel Serbia Iran India Croatia Slovakia Lithuania Isle of Man Romania Belarus Estonia Slovenia Georgia Latvia Faroe Islands Taiwan Azerbaijan United Arab Emirates Moldova Bahamas Kazakhstan China North Macedonia Jamaica Jersey Armenia Morocco Japan Cyprus Kyrgyzstan Mongolia Montenegro Malta Kuwait Kosovo St. Pierre & Miquelon Bosnia & Herzegovina Pakistan Uzbekistan Albania Palestinian Territories Tajikistan Algeria Philippines Hong Kong SAR China South Korea Tunisia Guernsey Iraq Thailand Libya Brazil Vatican City Lesotho Namibia Tonga Nepal Saudi Arabia Lebanon Liechtenstein Egypt Turkmenistan Oman Qatar Jordan San Marino Malaysia Monaco Bahrain Bangladesh Gibraltar Andorra Singapore Afghanistan Laos Sri Lanka Puerto Rico Macao SAR China Vietnam Myanmar (Burma) Cayman Islands Syria Greenland Bhutan

Recorded as a rare visitor in Chile, Cambodia, Kenya, Aruba.

About the Common Starling

The common starling, also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, and as the European starling in North America, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of the year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the Mabinogion and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor) Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolorThe adult spotless starling is very similar to the common starling, but marginally larger (21–23 cm length; 70–100 g weight), and has darker, oily-looking black plumage, slightly purple- or green-glossed in bright light, which is entirely spotless in spring and summer, and only with very small pale spots in winter plumage, formed by the pale tips of the feathers.

Side by side: Common Starling vs Spotless Starling

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