Male starlings begin building the nest before mating takes place. They choose the nest site and use it to attract females. Yesterday I saw a European Starling cleaning out a nest cavity which has been used by Starlings for at least the past 5 years.
What originally drew my attention to this Starling was all of the interesting sounds it was creating. After making a couple of trips taking debris out of the nest cavity, it would perch on a branch next to the hole and vocalize an array of whistles, warbles, chatters, and bird mimicry. Individuals can learn the calls of up to 20 different species, such as, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Killdeer, meadowlarks, Northern Bobwhite, Wood Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, Northern Flicker, and many others. This Starling was occasionally throwing in the sound of a Red-winged blackbird.
Starlings are beautiful birds. In winter, their plumage is brown, covered in white spots. In summer, they have a purplish-green iridescent (which I see a little appearing in the photo) with yellow beaks. All About Birds had this cool fact: “Starlings turn from spotted and white to glossy and dark each year without shedding their feathers. The new feathers they grow in fall have bold white tips – that’s what gives them their spots. By spring, these tips have worn away, and the rest of the feather is dark and iridescent brown. It’s an unusual changing act that scientists term ‘wear molt.’”
See you out there!
