Yesterday I had to go to work, to put in my mandatory special event time. Since for some reason there isn't much traffic on Sundays, I got there early. That was good, as it gave me a chance to go for a walk on the snow, and then I came across something pretty cool. In the trees overhead was a mixed flock of blackbirds. After I shot this video, I went to go see what they were. There were 30 or 40 male red-winged blackbirds, and a dozen or so starlings. I thought I heard grackles, but I wasn't certain that I could see them. There could have been other kinds of blackbirds--brewer's, bronzed, or rusty, or maybe some brown-headed cowbirds, but I could only make out the redwings and starlings.



This video is for listening. Close your eyes and enjoy. For the birdos, how many species can you pick out?
The woodpecker was on the other side of me, in the deer enclosure. I never saw it.

Not to give anyone any ideas, but in the United States, it's legal to own a European Starling as a pet (or pretty much do anything you want to them, as long as you don't run afoul of animal cruelty lawas). Here's someone in (apparently) South Carolina who has one, and has taught it a few phrases to speak. It's interesting how the quality of its voice is different from other talking birds.

http://myspace.com/talkingstarling

Edited to Add:

Interesting article about starling song choices: http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=104&articleID=1323

Photographs by cottonmanifesto
Urban Species #040: European Starling Sturnus vulgaris

What is the strangest animal species? No contest: humans. One example proving this is the existence of the Shakespeare societies of the 19th century. These groups made it their express purpose to bring to America every bird mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. The European starling was already, in Europe, a successful urban species, commuting between crop fields outside the city and nest holes in man-made objects and structures. It had centuries of experience of living alongside humans, house sparrows, and pigeons in Old World cities, when its mention in a tirade by Hotspur in Henry IV caused it to be brought to the New World.

The starling was brought to many places by many Shakespeare societies, but only established itself when it was released in New York City's central park. The starling's success as an American urban bird has earned it the hatred of American bird lovers. It succeeds at the expense of native birds, with the blame for the decline of eastern bluebirds, for example, laid at its feet.

It' s all a shame, of course, but the starling makes for fascinating urban nature watching nonetheless. Starlings possess an amazing range of vocalizations (tamed starlings can be taught to imitate human speech--that's the context for its inclusion in Shakespeare). A flock of hundreds of starlings is a sound that must be experienced to be believed. In flight, starlings flock together in groups that resemble schooling fish. Confronting an aerial predator they form a "starling ball," a cohesive mass of birds that must be intimidating to a single hawk.

Starlings, like many successful urban species, are omnivores and scavengers. They eat the fruit of ornamental trees and shrubs, insects, carrion, and garbage. Plenty of each of these is available in most cities.

Starlings have been introduced to many cities worldwide, becoming significant members of the urban fauna in such diverse locations as Vancouver, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Wellington New Zealand, and Sydney.

( more pictures )