Starlings can live almost anywhere, in any climate. Some of the starlings' favorite places to live are steeples, your attic, a birdhouse, and many others. Starlings can live any where humans do, on any continent, Europe, Asia..., all but Antarctica. Starlings usually live near humans.
When a starling is one year old it will have black feathers. The feathers on its breast will shine different colors, usually green and purple. In winter a starling's bill will turn black; in summer it will turn yellow. Starlings are about five inches tall. A starling also has little white spots, hence the name starling.
All starlings came from Europe. Starlings weren't alone when they came here. They were with many other birds. All the other birds died, but starlings not only did not die, but they became common. As a matter of fact starlings are now the most common bird in the United States.
Starlings eat a variety of foods. They are omnivores. Their food ranges from nuts and seeds to berries and bugs depending on which are most plentiful. Starlings being able to change their diets is one reason they are common. At times when there isn't enough food starlings will eat garbage.
What a starling sounds like depends on where it lives. The reason for this is starlings mimic other things. If you live in a big city a starling might honk at you. Sometimes if you whistle you may get a starling to whistle back to you.
The reason starlings are so common is probably that they keep their young ones in the nest until they are ready to fly. When a starling incubates its eggs it first lays all of them because otherwise one will be bigger than the others.
Starlings have powerful beak muscles for opening their beaks. The reason for that is that they need it for flipping over small rocks to find bugs.
Starlings make good pets. They are social, so they enjoy human companionship, and they are easy to take care of. They like noise and activity. A starling's idea of fun is being surrounded by a den of excited cub scouts. A starling is also content on its own, so it will not pine away if you go on vacation for a few days.
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE! Someone who works in wildlife rehabilitation reminded us that it is legal to kidnap a starling in the United States because it is a non-native species. It is ILLEGAL and CRUEL to "adopt" a native bird. If you find an injured or lost native bird, you should contact your local zoo, aviary, Audobon Society representative, Fish and Wildlife service, or other expert for advice.
We also ask that before you "rescue" a starling, you realize that most people in the United States regard starlings as pests. Starlings drive out native birds, most notably the purple martin. You should only adopt a starling if you intend to keep it. If you raise one, and release it, you are introducing a non-native bird into the environment.
If you live outside of the United States you should check local regulations before taking any bird from the wild.
Having warned you . . .
A good time to catch a starling is when it is just learning to fly, but hasn't left the nest. If you've been watching a starling nest, you can sneak over to it around this time, probably in May, and grab one of the birds.
A starling cage should give the bird enough room to hop around. It should have a couple of perches, a bowl of water big enough for the bird to bathe in, and some toys. If you have cats, the cage will need to be catproof.
Our bird's cage is made out of 1/4-inch wire mesh. The cage is a rectangular prism approximately 24 inches high, 24 inches wide, and 15 inches deep. (Metric: about 60 cm by 60 cm by 40 cm.) Edges are sewn together with bell wire. All projecting wire ends have been bent outside the cage so the bird can't cut herself.
The door opening is approximately 13 inches wide and 7 inches (30 cm by 20 cm) high, and the door is a rectangular piece of mesh approximately 20 inches wide and 10 inches high (50 cm by 25 cm). The door is held in place by two straight pieces of coat-hanger wire, each with a hook in the end. On either side of the door, about an inch from the opening, we have a piece of sturdy but flexible wire woven into the mesh, with four small loops projecting out of the cage. To attach the door, we place it over the opening so that the loops stick out through the door. Then we thread the coat-hanger wire through the loops. This holds the door firmly in place. The bird can't reach the door fastener, and our cats have given up trying to get into the cage.
For baths, our starling has a ceramic bowl about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep. She has a water bottle hanging inside the cage for drinks. We have given her a large ceramic bowl as a perch. We put toilet paper in it for her projects. She also has a stick stuck diagonally across one corner of her cage. We recently gave her a couple of rocks to hop on, and to help keep her toenails worn down. The bottom of the cage is covered with newspaper.
Starlings like shiny toys, and things that swing. Our starling has a couple of mirrors hung inside her cage. From the top, Becky has hung a few jingle bells, a ring from a vending machine, and a plastic bug. The bird also has a couple of small balls to push around. It is important that nothing in the cage except food is small enough for the bird to swallow. We find that our bird likes new toys every few weeks.
Adult starlings eat a variety of foods. Starlings like table scraps, especially moist crisp foods like apples. To make sure your starling is getting enough protein, we recommend dry cat food as its main diet. We moisten the cat food before setting it in the bird's cage, but we've found the bird is smart enough to drop dry food in her water bowl. Make sure the bird always has some food in the cage.
A baby starling's natural diet is bugs and worms. A recipe for baby bird food is given below. Feed your starling about once an hour during the day. You will need to cram the food down the baby bird's throat, just like a mother bird. Since you probably don't have a beak, you can use fingers for this. When the bird has all of its adult feathers, you can switch to the adult diet.
Here is a recipe for baby bird food contributed by Lisa Brocco:
This diet can also be divided and frozen...that way you don't have to make up a new batch every day. I use a straw with the end cut into a rounded "spoon" shape to feed the babies.
Starlings are very comical birds. If you get one and play with it, it will never fail to amuse you. To play with your starling:
Watch for wild starlings! They do many amusing things. If you have a dryer that blows hot air outside you can observe starlings sitting there in the winter. Since starlings learn many sounds you can hear funny things. One bird made the sounds of a cuckoo, a horn, a whistle, and a cat!
Our bird is also funny. She can imitate a telephone. If you talk to her she will squawk back. She complains if you don't talk to her, and she fights with her toys.
The oats can clog up their stomachs because they absorb liquids and birds can't chew them.
You can give the birds a few drops of water from a dropper and keep a water dish nearby so that they can drink on their own. They will get most of their water by eating moist food which you should feed them.
No. In the wild the parents have to feed the babies constantly. Just feed the bird until it refuses to eat.
No. Starlings can adapt their feeding schedule to yours. When they are old enough just give them a bowl of food and they'll eat when they're hungry.
Until it gets its adult feathers and eats food left in its cage by itself.
Oh yes. Birds eat a lot and they need to go very frequently. Their cage should get really dirty within a week. If it is extra runny or green try giving them dry bread and water for a day. If it worsens, go to a vet.
Keep the eggs in a box or in an incubator, keeping the temperature at 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep a shallow dish of water next to them so that the eggs will not dry out. Turn the eggs twice a day. If the eggs have been abandoned for a long period of time they might not hatch.
We haven't cared for a starling this young, but we think you should keep it warm and cram food down its throat about once an hour during the day. Give it water and make a nest for it with soft paper (toilet paper or tissue paper.) You should talk to it to get it used to you.
Two to six weeks. They leave the nest about two weeks after they get their feathers but they still watch and copy their parents.
Try a commercial mite spray or powder in small quantities. Give the bird a bath and clean its cage. A powder for cats and dogs should work. If the bugs are big the bird will eat some and you need to pick off the others.
Sure. It won't hurt the bird if you don't put on too much. Make sure that the bird doesn't eat any.
Just about anywhere. The most popular spots are walls and eaves, but they also nest in trees. Ask pest exterminaters-they often get complaints about birds in walls.
It would be a good thing to try. Make sure to keep cats away. If the parents reject it or if there is cat danger I would suggest you keep it.
No. It doesn't know how to forage for itself. It doesn't know that cats will kill it. It isn't aware of wild dangers-it's used to the house.
Starlings have been known to live for more than twenty years.
It depends on the personalities of the two birds. Starlings are very social and should enjoy the company. It would be best if the birds are of a fairly equal size and seem friendly. Supervise the first few meetings to make sure that they will get along.
This web page was written by Michael and Rebecca Parker and their Mom.
Our e-mail address is janinetheraven@yahoo.com. Please include "Starling" in the subject.