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Misc

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Genera lists in the taxobox and on the page don't match! (and ditto for the Myna page) MPF 17:59, 1 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Also can anyone clarify the genus of Vinous-breasted Starling: MacKinnon & Phillipps (Birds of China) treats it without comment in Sturnus, and it looks much more like a Sturnus than an Acridotheres. MPF 17:59, 1 Feb 2004 (UTC)

MacKinnon & Phillipps also include Sturnina in Sturnus MPF 17:59, 1 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Starling look-alike question

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Can you tell me please, what bird it is, that looks like a blackbird, in everything but its bill, which is also black instead of orange? Also, there seemed to be a couple of them on the palm tree where I saw them, and both of them were quite the same, none brownish-gray female. They whistled, quite musical whistles, but different from the blackbird's song that I know very well. I saw them this week in Arad, at the south-east region of Israel, on the way to the Dead Sea, but before the great decent. Thank you for any information, --85.250.186.112 10:58, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

1st winter male blacbirds have a black bill jimfbleak 18:09, 24 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The "Black Sun" phenomenon

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I stumbled upon a article (links below) about flocks of starlings forming incredible formations, a phenomenon known in Denmark and called the "Black Sun". The site hosting the article is an ad-profit site with porn ads and therefore NSFW. From the site:

"During spring in Denmark, at approximately half an hour before sunset, flocks of more than a million European starlings gather from all corners to join in incredible formations. This phenomenon is called Black Sun and can be witnessed in early spring throughout the marshlands of western Denmark, from March through to the middle of April. The starlings migrate from the south and spend the day in the meadows gathering food, sleeping in the reeds during the night. The best place to view this amazing aerial dance is in the place called Tøndermarsken."

A quick google search turned up the original article which I will provide link for below. I added a part about the phenomenon in the article with images and sources, and a link in Black Sun (disambiguation) to the article.

Opiax 07:31, 24 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have a question, which might seem to have an obvious answer but it doesn't: the paragraph reads "a million European starlings gather from all corners to join in" but I do not quite know WHICH "all corners" are being referenced here. All corners of DENMARK? Of Europe? Or Scandinavia? Some clarification is needed, I think. Hi There 05:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

New comment

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We have a similar phenomenon, here in central Toronto, to Denmark's Black Sun. Small black birds flying in straight lines - starlings? - begin to assemble about an hour before sunset, then rise and fall in the air currents in large beautiful patterns before settling into the neighbourhood trees. This bird ballet, which continues for about an hour, takes place - my apartment neighbours and I watch in fascination from our balconies - on unpredictable days during the summer, and now fall, until thousands are gathered, filling a number of trees, and then as one, decide on the trees to spend the night, rising in enormous groups, then settling again just before the sun goes down. Much chattering, but once the sun is finally set, they go quiet.

64.231.232.203 (talk) 15:18, 11 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I searched "starling flight" after watching such a 'ballet' today over the Bosphorous in Istanbul, have also watched it in France, holland, UK... It's not uncommon, but it is stunning. I (and many others) would be enriched if someone knowledgeable could explain this seemingly telepathic flight behaviour on Wpdia. THANK YOU. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.255.135.1 (talk) 13:26, 8 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This is an active area of research in the fields of Mathematical Optimization (Pure and Applied Maths), Computer Science and both Complexity Theories ('Computational Complexity Theory' and 'Complexity Theory' proper i.e. in Nonlinear Dynamics/Chaos). I am not very good at editing wikipedia (still don't know how to properly add references D: ), but I think this article should include information on this topic. The fields that pertain to this area are 'Swarm Intelligence' and 'Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)'. I am sure the Wikipedia article on these topics will have some useful information to include on here. Maybe a brief reference to the importance of starling behaviour in studying these branches of mathematical optimization. To the person above me, this behaviour arises out of purely local computations which give rise to complex global behaviour. This is what makes the behaviour quite so fascinating -- low computational power (e.g. a single bee, ant or starling) can give rise to unpredictable chaotic systems that work together (a swarm). Such complex behaviour arising out of simple rules is explained through a concept called 'emergence' in mathematics and complexity theory. Emergence is described succinctly, thus: "Simply local rules produce complex global behaviour." Rlinfinity (talk) 21:32, 18 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Strong feet?

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Is this a joke? What does that mean?Landroo 13:25, 28 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

As compared to a swallow's (another passerine) feet for example.Dysmorodrepanis 22:27, 19 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Shakespeare sources

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I just added this section on the article:

"Starlings were first brought to North America in the 1890s. Eugene Schieffelin decided that North America should contain all the birds mentioned in William Shakespeare's plays. As starlings receive a brief mention in Henry IV, Part 1, Schieffelin introduced 60 of the birds in Celtral Park, New York."

My sources are: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/01/bioinvasion_2001-01-23.html

and

http://www.sewanee.edu/biology/courses/Bio201/Introduced.html

I don't know how to add footnotes. Someone can add them if he or she feels like it.

Mr. Wood 03:12, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Is it true that starlings originally come from Starlingrad? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.73.70.113 (talk) 04:14, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Agressive Nesting Habits

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I believe I posted this before, but it has been deleted. I wish someone would have answered the question instead of just deleting it. I was wondering if their agressive nesting habits could be elaborated on. My father told me that the starlings lay eggs in another bird's nest, the other bird takes care of it until it hatches. The baby starling eats the other birds and the mother still takes care of it. They are really hurting the populations of other native birds and I think that should be included. [[User:KannD86|KannD86] 04:11, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

You have the wrong article, I think you want European Starling, not all the world's starling species. The description of the behaviour sounds like Common Cuckoo anyway. Although European Starlings are aggressive, they build their own nests, and do not eat the young of other birds. They may compete with other species for nest holes, and in NAm, that may be a problem, since they are not native. Jimfbleak 05:27, 19 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Cowbirds will lay parasite eggs. The hatchling does not, nor could it, eat other hatchlings. If the parasite egg is spotted by the host bird and ejected/destroyed, the cowbird -- which occasionally checks on its own egg in the host nest -- has been known to retaliate by ejecting all of the host eggs from the nest. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.252.157.187 (talk) 01:47, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Active development warning

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There is a fine paper by Lovette & Rubenstein coming up (see here for preprint) which will answer most though not all of the open questions. Please retain the warning note on this page until the study has been published and incorporated! Thanks! Dysmorodrepanis 14:26, 20 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Another study of the group is also to be out soon, dealing with the Sturnus-mynah assemblage. By mid-2008, taxonomy/systematics of the non-glossy starlings should be by and large settled - once and for all! :D Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 16:42, 14 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Copycat tendency

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According to Chris Packham on BBC Radio Scotland's Scotland Outdoors programme, starlings mimic the sounds they hear around them, be it other birds or non-natural noises, such as car alarms, etc. This should probably be mentioned in the article, if it isn't already (I just gave it a quick glance over and didn't see it). - Dudesleeper / Talk 21:28, 9 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It is mentioned, in the species article for European Starling (which is the full name for our common garden starlings). This article is about the entire family. Sabine's Sunbird talk 23:49, 9 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]


Interesting video

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Starlings defense mechanism

--Roto2esdios (talk) 19:27, 22 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I believe the phenomena in that video is called "murmuration", and is one of the coolest things about the species. I think a section about the phenomena should be in the article.Spirit469 (talk) 02:48, 13 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think all starling species do this, I'm not sure that it's called a murmuration, and I don't think a copyrighted YouTube video is an acceptable source. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:12, 13 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
It is called that. see flocking (behavior)#In_nature. The external media template could be used instead of making it a ref, but Commons also has suitable videos. Arlo James Barnes 20:03, 15 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Starlings as an "Invasive Species"

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I would say the answer to that thought depends on where it is uttered. I presume they were native to somewhere. 7&6=thirteen (☎) 16:00, 25 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There is an article about an Englishman who introduce 100 starlings to Central Park in the 1800's and they now number in the billions in the US. Is that invasive enough for you? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.225.97.42 (talk) 01:02, 20 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
This article is about the many species that make up the starling family, invasive behaviour is in the Common starling article Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:35, 20 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]
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Why the name?

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Wiktionary confirms the apparent connection to star is not just a false friend, but doesn't bother explaining further. Arlo James Barnes 20:08, 15 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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