Common Starling

A glossy black bird washed with iridescent purple and green in the breeding season and spotted with white in winter, the Common Starling is famous for the vast wheeling murmurations that gather at its winter roosts. Its long bill, yellow when breeding and dark in winter, probes soil for insect larvae, earthworms, and other invertebrates, and it also takes fruit and seeds. Native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, it has been introduced to North America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, and occupies open countryside, farmland, parks, and cities. Cavity nests hold four to seven eggs, incubated for about 12 days, with young fledging near 21 days. A gifted mimic, it weaves rattles, whistles, clicks, and imitations of other birds into a continuous medley. It is listed as Least Concern.