Common Starling

How to identify

Field marks

1. Black feathers with a purple-green metallic gloss and many white spots in winter
2. Bill yellow in summer, black in winter
3. Relatively short tail, pointed, knife-like bill and rounded belly
4. Stout pink legs and feet

Male, female and young

The sexes can usually be distinguished by the iris: dark brown in males, gray-brown or gray in females. Males have fewer spots on the underparts; juveniles are gray-brown.

Voice

The song is highly varied, with whistles, mimicry and series of clicks.

Similar species

Bohemian Waxwing

Very similar in structure in flight, and also forms dense flocks; Bohemian Waxwing is paler, tending toward rufous-yellow, slightly smaller, and has very different flight calls.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May · Most records: United States, Canada, United Kingdom

Common Starling has been recorded at 3,109 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 116 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Central ParkUnited States34,597 records
2. Prospect ParkUnited States32,310 records
3. Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Lincoln Park, ChicagoUnited States30,880 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United StatesCanadaUnited KingdomAustraliaSpainNew ZealandArgentinaGermany

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, and as the European starling in North America, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of the year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions