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Common Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
33.0655, -117.068
Field Notes
Description:
Black bird with white spots on breast and wings. There's a green and purple sheen on the chest when the light hits it. The bill is yellow and legs and feet are pink. I believe this is the breeding plumage. "Flock size is highly variable, with huge flocks providing a spectacular sight and sound usually occurring near roosts. Huge flocks of more than a million Starlings are observed just before sunset in spring in southwestern Jutland, Denmark." - Wikipedia
Habitat:
Utility line near Lake Hodges trailhead.
Notes:
"The Common Starling is a noisy bird uttering a wide variety of both melodic and mechanical-sounding sounds, including a distinctive "wolf-whistle". Starlings are mimics, like many of its family. In captivity, Starlings will learn to imitate all types of sounds and speech earning them the nickname "poor-man's Myna". Being an introduced species European starlings are exempt from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Starlings are among the worst nuisance species in North America. The birds travel in enormous flocks; pose danger to air travel; disrupt farms; displace native birds; and roost on city blocks. Corrosive droppings on structures cause hundreds of millions of dollars of yearly damage. In 2008 the U.S. government poisoned, shot or trapped 1.7 million, the most of any nuisance species." - Wikipedia
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