Editing Common starling (section)

{{Short description|Species of passerine birds}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Speciesbox
 | name = Common starling
 | image               = Toulouse - Sturnus vulgaris - 2012-02-26 - 3.jpg
 | image_caption = Adult nominate ''S. v. vulgaris'' in breeding plumage showing metallic sheen on feathers, [[Toulouse]], France
 | image_alt           = Common starling
 | image2              = Sturnus vulgaris.ogg
 | image2_caption      = The song of a common starling
 | status              = LC
 | status_system       = IUCN3.1
 | status_ref          = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=''Sturnus vulgaris'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T22710886A137493608 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22710886A137493608.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
 | genus               = Sturnus
 | species             = vulgaris
 | authority           = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Systema Naturae|1758]]
 | range_map           = Sturnus vulgaris map.png
 | range_map_caption   = 
'''Native:''' {{leftlegend|#FFF008| Summer visitor |outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000| Resident |outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#0080FF| Winter visitor |outline=gray}}
'''Introduced:''' {{leftlegend|#FFFF80| Summer visitor |outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#80FF80| Resident |outline=gray}}
}}

The '''common starling''' ('''''Sturnus vulgaris'''''), also known simply as the '''starling''' in Great Britain and Ireland, and as '''European starling''' in North America, is a medium-sized [[passerine]] [[bird]] in the starling family, [[Sturnidae]]. It is about {{convert|20|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long and has glossy black [[plumage]] with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of the year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. Its gift for [[mimicry]] has been noted in literature including the ''[[Mabinogion]]'' and the works of [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[William Shakespeare]].

The common starling has about 12 [[subspecies]] breeding in open [[habitat]]s across its native [[Range (biology)|range]] in temperate Europe and across the [[Palearctic]] to western Mongolia, and it has been introduced as an invasive species to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, [[Mexico]], [[Argentina]], [[South Africa]] and [[Fiji]].<ref>Long, John L. (1981). Introduced Birds of the World. Agricultural Protection Board of Western Australia. pp. 21–493</ref> This bird is resident in western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations [[Bird migration|migrate]] south and west in the winter within the breeding range and also further south to [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] and North Africa. The common starling builds an untidy [[Bird nest|nest]] in a natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue eggs are laid. These take two weeks to hatch and the young remain in the nest for another three weeks. There are normally one or two breeding attempts each year. This species is omnivorous, taking a wide range of [[invertebrate]]s, as well as seeds and fruit. It is hunted by various mammals and [[birds of prey]], and is host to a range of external and internal parasites.

Large flocks typical of this species can be beneficial to agriculture by controlling invertebrate [[pest (organism)|pest]]s; however, starlings can also be pests themselves when they feed on fruit and sprouting crops. Common starlings may also be a nuisance through the noise and mess caused by their large urban roosts. Introduced populations in particular have been subjected to a range of controls, including [[culling]], but these have had limited success, except in preventing the colonisation of Western Australia.

The species has declined in numbers in parts of northern and western Europe since the 1980s due to fewer grassland invertebrates being available as food for growing chicks. Despite this, its huge global population is not thought to be declining significantly, so the common starling is classified as being of [[least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]].