Common Starling
Lowest risk
Migratory
The common starling, also known as the European starling in the United States or simply the starling in the British Isles, 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 year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts and other gregarious situations, with an unmusical but varied song. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the Mabinogion and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare.
- Range mass
- 70.0 to 100.0 g
- Average length
- 21.5 cm
- Average wingspan
- 40.0 cm
- Average basal metabolic rate
- 0.877 W
- Breeding interval
- European starlings may lay more than one clutch in the same breeding season, particularly if the eggs or babies from the first clutch did not survive. It is more common for birds living in southern areas to have more than one clutch, probably because the breeding season is longer.
- Breeding season
- European starlings breed from March to July.
- Range eggs per season
- 4.0 to 7.0
- Average eggs per season
- 5
- Range time to hatching
- 15.0 (high) days
- Range fledging age
- 21.0 to 23.0 days
- Range lifespan
Status: wild - 15.0 (high) years
- Average lifespan
Status: wild - 183 months
Chow, J. 2000. "Sturnus vulgaris" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 10, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sturnus_vulgaris/
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