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Bird Control - Starling Information

Starlings may be small or medium in size and they come from the Sturnidae family. We sometimes deal with them in our Suffolk County bird removal projects.

Appearance
Most of the Asian species, especially the ones that are larger are known as mynas, and most of the African species are called glossy starlings due to their iridescent plumage.

Biology
Starlings possess sturdy feet and their flight is direct and strong too. Their favorite habitat is comparatively open country. Most of the species look for prey like grubs by vehemently unlocking the bill subsequent to placing it into a fissure, as a result developing the hole and revealing the prey. This particular activity is known as zirkeln, a German verb.

Life cycle
Starlings tend to lay around 4 to 6 eggs during the middle of April. The chicks are said to hatch in just 12 days time. Both male and the female will feed their chicks with larvae, insects, earthworms and spiders. The young ones fledge when they are 3 weeks old. They are then fed for just 1 or 2 weeks and are then set independent.

Habitat
Starlings live in various habitats right from Equator to the Arctic Circle. If truth be told, the only environment that do not occupy typically is the sandy deserts that are very dry. Starlings naturally occur in Old World, from Asia, Africa and Europe to northern Australia and islands of the tropical Pacific. The Aplonis species is said to have widely spread over the islands of Pacific stretching to Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia. It is again a species of this genus which is the solitary starling discovered in northern Australia. Both the Asian and European species are introduced to these regions and also Hawaii, New Zealand and North America wherein they normally contend for habitat along with native birds and so they are said to be invasive species.

Diet
Starlings mainly consume insects and fruits. Most of the species are significant seed dispersers in Africa and Asia and Indian Banyan and white sandalwood are some examples of this type. They are significant parasitic mistletoes dispersers as well. Starlings are said to feed on fermented over-ripe fruit that brought about the conjecture and assumption that they might turn out to be intoxicated by means of alcohol. Most of the starlings also eat nectar, besides fruit consumption. The degrees to which the starling are significant pollinators is however unknown, yet, at least a few are, like the Slender-billed starling present in alpine East Africa that pollinates giant lobelias.

Behavior
The starlings are typically an extremely social family. Most of the species link in groups of different sizes all through the year. A group of starlings is known as a murmuration. Such groups might comprise other starlings species and at times species from other groups too. This particular trait is obvious and apparent in their roosting activities. During the non-breeding season, certain roosts can add up to thousands of birds. Starlings impersonate various avian species and possess a range of around 15 to 20 diverse imitations. They even emulate some sounds excluding the ones of wild birds. Starlings are also well-known to emulate objects like cars and phone boxes. For more info about us and our Long Island bird control services, click on: Suffolk County Wildlife Pest Control