European Starling
By Lexi Bender
The European Starling is Native to Europe.
This species was introduced as part of a plan which attempted to introduce all birds mentioned in the writings of Shakespeare to the USA.
Becaus they are generalists and can co-exist with humans, the European Starling population grew rapidly and they are now Invasive all over the USA.
"“The king forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer. But I will find him when he is asleep, and in his ear I’ll holler ‘Mortimer!’ Nay I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep his anger still in motion” -Shakespeare (Henry IV)
The Problem:
European Starling represents not only an annoyance to farmers whose crops are jeoparized by flocks, but also to livestock and humans as starlings transmit disease. Additionally, this species has successfully driven off Bluebirds, Purple Martin, and Tree swallows- all native species.
As far as getting rid of these pests, they are not protected by federal law and oftentimes not by state law. It is usually up to the individual to get rid of them. Some methods include isolating livestock feed using repellents or shooting them. Some areas even give bounties for dead Starlings as well. However, Starlings are still a prominent species, huge flocks even causing problems for air travel.
Sources:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/eurostarling.shtml
http://www.natureali.org/european_starling.htm
Images
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cgiordani 11 years ago
This is great, thanks for sharing.