Starling

Starling

©Wildstock

starling

Jon Hawkins, Surrey Hills Photography

A murmuration of starlings

A murmuration of starlings - Guy Edwardes/2020VISION

Starling

Enw gwyddonol: Sturnus vulgaris
The starling is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful purple-and-green sheen to its black feathers. It is famous for its wintry aerial displays - massive flocks can be seen wheeling over our towns and farmland.

Gwybodaeth am rywogaethau

Ystadegau

Length: 22cm
Wingspan: 40cm
Weight: 78g
Average lifespan: 5 years

Statws cadwraethol

Classified in the UK as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021). Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.

Pryd i'w gweld

January to December

Ynghylch

The starling is a familiar bird of farmland, parkland, gardens and towns. Sociable birds, starlings spend a lot of their time in large flocks, roosting and performing sweeping, aerial displays - they can often be seen moving fluidly through a wintry sky. starlings eat insects and fruit, and will visit birdtables and feeders. They make untidy nests in holes in trees or in buildings, in which the female lays five to seven eggs. Both parents raise the chicks.

Sut i'w hadnabod

Adult starlings are a beautiful, oily black colour, with a purple and green sheen. In the winter, they are covered in tiny beige spots. Young starlings are dark grey-brown.

Dosbarthiad

Widespread.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

Enormous winter flocks of starlings can number more than a million birds! These flocks are predated upon by peregrine falcons, but the flock can be seen wheeling and diving as one great pattern as individuals try to avoid being caught.

Gwyliwch

Starlings by Russell Savory