THE ANIMAL FILES

Common starling

Sturnus vulgaris

A moving cloud of starlings is built from neighbours reacting to neighbours.

A common starling can seem like a very different animal depending on the scale of your view. On a lawn it is a patient investigator of soil; near a winter roost it becomes one point in a constantly changing flock. Both scenes involve close attention to what is nearby.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Common starling
Image: PierreSelim · Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Flock movement
Individuals adjust to nearby birds[1]
Soil technique
The bill can open inside the soil[1]
Nest site
Cavities in trees, buildings or nest boxes[1]

No single conductor in the sky

Large flocks near roosts repeatedly contract, expand and change direction. Each bird adjusts its course and speed in response to its closest neighbours; the pattern does not require a leader at the front directing every turn. Dense flocking is thought to help against birds of prey, although that proposed benefit should not be mistaken for a conscious plan shared by every bird.[1]

Opening a window into the soil

Starlings probe the ground and can spread their bill while it is inserted, widening the opening to reach food. Young birds take time to perfect this technique. They also catch insects in the air or lunge at moving prey on the ground. Their diet includes many invertebrates as well as fruits, seeds and other available foods.[1]

A cavity becomes a nursery

A suitable hole offers the starting point for a nest. Tree hollows, buildings and artificial boxes can all provide one. Males begin building and may bring fresh plant material while attracting a mate; both partners can then continue construction. Straw, twigs and grasses form the structure, with softer material lining the inside. The nest is assembled within shelter rather than hung openly from a branch.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Must a huge flock have one bird steering it?

No. Local adjustments to neighbours can produce coordinated changes across the flock.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why might a young starling find fewer insects while probing the same lawn as an adult?

Reveal the explanation

Opening the bill effectively in soil is a learned-foraging skill that takes practice. Access to the same ground does not guarantee equal technique.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Sturnus vulgaris (adapted and translated; exact revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Sturnus vulgaris (identity and game lineage)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

Great titSmall feet can become a food-holding tool.Parus major ↗Common blackbirdA black male does not make every blackbird black.Turdus merula ↗Blue jayBlue feathers can be blue without blue pigment.Cyanocitta cristata ↗