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SUPER STARLINGS Tanzania plays host to a wide variety of Starlings, over twenty species in fact. In California we have the feisty intelligent generalist European Starling. Singularly beautiful as individuals but glared at by many a birder for their stubborn survival streak which can play havoc with the delicate nesting strategies of pre-established locals. Above [...]

Now that there are 7 billi0n of us on this planet, it seems appropriate to look at and appreciate other great big collections of creatures. This week I came across a wonderful little video (here) of Starlings by Liberty Smith and Sophie Windsor Clive: now, wasn’t that cute. and incredibly impressive. In September, I spent [...]

I had some spare time this week after being released a couple of hours early from jury duty and used that time well, birding Kissena Corridor Park in central Queens, which has been a hot spot for a variety of good birds this fall.  While I didn’t discover any rarities during my birding I did [...]

Starlings evoke a whole range of emotions. Individually or in small groups, starlings in North America elicit all manner of ill-will. However, free-wheeling flocks of Sturnus vulgaris transcend those vulgar emotions, instead inspiring awe and wonder. Scientists are beginning to crack the code underlying those amazing displays of synchronized flight. Apparently, the principles at work [...]

On my last beat post for 10,000 Birds I talked about how to avoid European Starlings at your seed feeder.  You can also avoid them at your suet feeder too. It’s not a one hundred percent solution, but it works to keep most starlings, grackles and crows from the feeder. Let’s watch this video of [...]

Last weekend was the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, an effort to get folks all over North America to take note of the birds in their yards. This can be a big bump in bird feeding, might as well keep those feeders topped to pump up the number of species that you can record. I [...]

A recent trip to Jamaica Bay in the wind and cold was not very birdy and what birds I did see were mostly frantically feeding on whatever they could find.  A large flock of European Starlings Sturnus vulgaris was no exception and I watched and digiscoped quite a few starlings feeding on Winged Sumac Rhus [...]

I just heard from filmmaker Penny Lane about her fascinating new video about European Starlings. That’s right, I said starlings. Sure, the European Starling ranks up there as one of the most obnoxious exotic avians to invade North America. Sure, they’re a blight on crops and offensive to anyone unfortunate enough to park beneath a [...]

Here in North America, we contend unendingly with invasive birds like the European Starling, Mute Swan, and House Sparrow. In Australia, they are grappling with the threat of the Common Myna. The Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), also called Indian Myna and House Myna, ranges naturally from Afghanistan to Indochina, but has been introduced into tropical [...]

My good friend Eran just returned from a visit to Israel. Eran belongs to that surprisingly large segment of the population that looks on birding with bemusement rather than interest, but he is a generous soul. Since I couldn’t be with him to appreciate the birds of Israel, he brought some back to me in [...]