Starlings

One of the world's most widely introduced birds is the European or common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), that now occurs virtually worldwide in temperate regions Golden-breasted starling perched on a branch. Photograph by Tom & Pat Leeson. Photo Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission.
of Eurasia, North America, and Australia. This starling was first successfully introduced to North America in 1890 in Central Park, New York City, when 60 birds were released. There had been earlier releases of common starlings by homesick European immigrants, but these had failed to establish a breeding population. However, once the common starling became locally established in New York, it expanded its range explosively, and this species now occurs throughout most of temperate North America. In recent decades the European starling has consistently been the most numerous species tallied on the annual Christmas bird counts, and it may now be the most abundant species of bird in North America.

The European starling is an attractive bird, especially during the late winter to summer when it bears its dark-glossy, spotted, nuptial plumage. These short-tailed birds flock together during the non-breeding season, and they sometimes occur in huge aggregations of hundreds of thousands of birds. The European starling forages widely for invertebrates, especially insects living in the ground or in grass. During winter this bird mostly eats grains and other seeds. Although not a very accomplished singer, the renditions of the European starling are interesting, rambling assemblages of squeaks, whistles, gurgles, and imitations of the songs of other birds, and also of other sounds, such as squeaky clotheslines. Because the European starling is so common and lives in cities and most agricultural areas, it is possibly the most frequently heard and seen bird in North America, and also in much of the rest of the temperate world.

Another starling introduced to North America is the crested mynah (Acridotheres cristatellus), released in Vancouver in the 1890s, where it became established but did not spread more widely.