Bird Directory

European Starling Click on picture to hear bird sounds.	Bird Name: European Starling
	Field Marks: This bird, which is smaller than a robin, changes its looks with the seasons. Its plumage is black and heavily speckled with white or tan in the fall and winter and its bill is dark. During the spring and summer look for a glossy black bird with a green-purple sheen. The Starling has a yellow bill during the spring and summer. You will notice that its legs are dull red and its tail and wings are short.
	Feeder Food: Seeds, fruits
	Natural Food: Insects, insect larvae,worms, spiders, berries, seeds, greens
	Behavior: The Starling doesn't molt its speckled autumn feathers. The white feather tips just wear off over the winter and reveal glossy black, springtime plumage. Because it is an aggressive bird, you may see it frightening other birds away from your feeder. Song: hooee,jeer-but it also mimics other birds

Pictures and sounds were reproduced by permission.

Sources:

Alden, Peter and Brian Cassie, National Audubon Society Field Guide To New England, New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1998.

Dawe, Neil and Karen, The Bird Book, New York: Workman Publishing, 1988.

Elliott, Lang, Know Your Bird Sounds (cassette), Minocqua, WI: NorthWord Press, Inc., 1994.

Forbush, Edward Howe, Birds of Massachusetts, Norwood, Massachusetts: Norwood Press, 1929.

Reed, Chester R., Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1951.

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