|
Field
Guide IDs: BREEDING:
Habitat generalist:
open fields, woodland, suburbia, cities (usu absent
from deep forest). 2, occ 3 broods. DISPLAYS:
Courting male
adopts variety of postures while vocalizing;
highest intensity includes flailing wings in
hunched stance. NEST:
In any handy
cavity; slovenly cup of grass, twigs, forbs,
rootlets, straw. Male initiates nest, female
completes it, adds lining. EGGS:
Pale bluish or
greenish white, marked with browns. 1.2" (30
mm). DIET:
Includes other
invertebrates, berries. CONSERVATION:
Although resident
in winter, many individuals tend to wander s.
Successfully introduced into N.A. in New York City
in 1890-91, now a pest. NOTES:
Occ nest in loose
colony, laying initiated synchronously. Males
out-number females in many populations. Occ
polygynous. Females occ lay eggs in nests of other
females. Male incubates for only small part of day.
Territory does not extend much beyond nest hole.
Fly and roost in huge flocks oft with blackbirds,
cowbirds, grackles, and American Robins. Thought to
be important competitors of bluebirds and other
hole nesters. Incorporate sounds of other species
and of inanimate objects (mechanical squeaks,
grinding) into own vocalizations. Abundant resident
which first bred at Stanford in 1963; found in a
variety of habitat types throughout campus. Nests
in a variety of artificial cavities and crevices
but also uses natural cavities, including
woodpecker holes. Stanford-area studies of
interactions between starlings and Acorn
Woodpeckers suggest that appropriation of
woodpecker cavities by starlings may not have a
significant impact on Acorn Woodpecker
populations. ESSAYS: Avian
Invaders;
European
Starlings;
Vocal
Copying;
Helping
to Conserve Birds-National
Level;
Communal
Roosting;
Coloniality;
Polygyny REFERENCES:
Feare, 1984;
Kessel, 1957 |
