Confused Immigrants on a Wire

Birds on a wire. Starlings, of course.

When out with the dogs in winter, we often see large flocks of starlings, often with cowbirds and blackbirds mixed in, winging down to settle on cut-over corn fields and soy rakes, huddled on the lee side of shed roofs, and even settling on roads in order to make use of the warmth radiating up from the black tarmac.

Believe it or not, the more than 200 million European Starlings found in North America today are direct descendents of approximately 100 birds introduced into New York City's Central Park sometime in the early 1890s.

Sturnus vulgaris owes its presence in this hemisphere to an odd little New York City group called the "American Acclimatization Society" which was dedicated to introducing all of the birds mentioned in William Shakespeare's works into Central Park. Previous attempts to introduce Starlings in the Northeast, Midwest and on the West Coast had failed, but the 1890 release was spectacularly successful, as today's massive winter flocks attest.

You rarely see massive flocks of starlings in the Spring and Summer. During these times of year Starlings are far more solitary, seeking out hollow trees, ledges and building eaves in which to construct their nests.

As a general rule, Starlings avoid woodlands, deserts and open grassland, preferring man-altered environments such as cities, suburbs and grassy freeway medians where they can forage for bugs, seeds, berries, and insects.

In Europe the Starling is a migratory bird that forms large winter flocks bound for North Africa. When transported to the U.S., however, the Starling seems to have lost its bearings. Where, exactly, is is supposed to be migrating to? It does not know.

On the East Coast of the U.S., Starlings form winter flocks up to a hundred-thousand birds strong, but these flocks often travel just 50 to 200 miles before settling back down again. No climate improvement is achieved over such a short distance, but a vague genetic itch has been scratched, and the birds seem to be no worse the wear for overwintering close to home.

Starlings in the Midwest migrate much farther south than those on the Eastf Coast, probably because some individuals were blown farther south during winter storms and learned a migration routes back north by following blackbirds up from Louisiana and Mississippi in the Spring.