Editing Common starling (section)

=== Feeding ===
[[File:A field at Aghagallon - geograph.org.uk - 488583.jpg|right|thumb|A flock foraging at a farm in Northern Ireland]]

The common starling is largely [[insectivorous]] and feeds on both pest and other [[arthropod]]s. The food range includes [[spider]]s, [[Tipuloidea|crane flies]], [[moth]]s, [[Mayfly|mayflies]], [[Dragonfly|dragonflies]], [[damselfly|damsel flies]], [[grasshopper]]s, [[earwig]]s, [[lacewing]]s, [[Caddisfly|caddisflies]], [[Fly|flies]], [[beetle]]s, [[Sawfly|sawflies]], [[bee]]s, [[wasp]]s and [[ant]]s. Prey are consumed in both adult and larvae stages of development, and common starlings will also feed on [[earthworm]]s, [[snail]]s, small [[amphibian]]s and [[lizard]]s.<ref name="Adeney"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shimbov |first1=Mario I. |last2=Allain |first2=Steven J. R. |date=2022 |title=Smooth newt ''Lissotriton vulgaris'' preyed upon by European starling ''Sturnus vulgaris'' |journal= Herpetological Bulletin |issue=161 |pages=46 |doi=10.33256/hb161.46 |s2cid=252034217 |url=https://www.thebhs.org/publications/the-herpetological-bulletin/issue-number-161-autumn-2022/3536-14-smooth-newt-i-lissotriton-vulgaris-i-preyed-upon-by-european-starling-i-sturnus-vulgaris-i|doi-access=free }}</ref> While the consumption of [[invertebrates]] is necessary for successful breeding, common starlings are [[omnivorous]] and can also eat [[Cereal|grains]], [[seeds]], [[fruits]], [[nectar]] and [[food waste]] if the opportunity arises.<ref name=H1907/><ref name =emu>{{cite journal | last=Thomas | first= H F | year=1957 | title= The Starling in the Sunraysia District, Victoria. Part I| journal= Emu | volume= 57 | issue = 1 | pages= 31–48 | doi=10.1071/MU957031 }}</ref><ref name=pestnote>{{cite web |author1=Kirkpatrick, Win |author2=Woolnough, Andrew P |year=2007 |title=Common starling |work=Pestnote |publisher=Department of Agriculture and Food Australia |url=http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/pw/vp/bird/common_starling.pdf |access-date=2013-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323005918/https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/pw/vp/bird/common_starling.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Sturnidae differ from most birds in that they cannot easily metabolise foods containing high levels of [[sucrose]], although they can cope with other fruits such as grapes and cherries.<ref name= bvaawf/> The isolated Azores subspecies of the common starling eats the eggs of the endangered [[roseate tern]]. Measures are being introduced to reduce common starling populations by culling before the terns return to their breeding colonies in spring.<ref name=neves>{{cite journal | last1= Neves | first1= Verónica C | last2= Griffiths | first2= Kate | last3= Savory | first3= Fiona R | last4= Furness | first4= Robert W | last5= Mable | first5= Barbara K | year= 2009 | title= Are European starlings breeding in the Azores archipelago genetically distinct from birds breeding in mainland Europe? | journal= European Journal of Wildlife Research | volume= 56 | issue= 1 | pages= 95–100 | doi= 10.1007/s10344-009-0316-x | s2cid= 6618717 | url= https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00535248/file/10344_2009_316_ReferencePDF.pdf }}</ref>

[[File:Feeding the young starlings.ogv|thumbtime=40|thumb|left|An adult foraging and finding food for young chicks]]

There are several methods by which common starlings obtain their food, but, for the most part, they forage close to the ground, taking insects from the surface or just underneath. Generally, common starlings prefer foraging amongst short-cropped grasses and eat with grazing animals or perch on their backs,<ref name=pestnote/> where they will also feed on the mammal's external parasites.<ref name=feare183/> Large flocks may engage in a practice known as "roller-feeding", where the birds at the back of the flock continually fly to the front where the feeding opportunities are best.<ref name=H1907/> The larger the flock, the nearer individuals are to one another while foraging. Flocks often feed in one place for some time, and return to previous successfully foraged sites.<ref name=H1907/>

There are three types of foraging behaviours observed in the common starling. "Probing" involves the bird plunging its beak into the ground randomly and repetitively until an insect has been found, and is often accompanied by bill gaping where the bird opens its beak in the soil to enlarge a hole. This behaviour, first described by [[Konrad Lorenz]] and given the German term ''zirkeln'',<ref>{{cite journal|title=Foraging decisions in starlings (''Sturnus vulgaris'' L.)|last=Tinbergen|first=J. M.|year=1981|journal=Ardea|volume=69|pages=1–67|doi=10.5253/arde.v69.p1|s2cid=88425778|url=https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/135597596/a69_001_067.pdf}}</ref> is also used to create and widen holes in plastic garbage bags. It takes time for young common starlings to perfect this technique, and because of this the diet of young birds will often contain fewer insects.<ref name=hbw/> "[[Hawking (birds)|Hawking]]" is the capture of flying insects directly from the air, and "lunging" is the less common technique of striking forward to catch a moving [[invertebrate]] on the ground. Earthworms are caught by pulling from soil.<ref name=H1907/> Common starlings that have periods without access to food, or have a reduction in the hours of light available for feeding, compensate by increasing their body mass by the deposition of fat.<ref name= witter>{{cite journal | last1= Witter | first1= M S| last2= Swaddle | first2= J P | last3= Cuthill | first3= I C | year=1995 | title= Periodic food availability and strategic regulation of body mass in the European starling, ''Sturnus vulgaris'' | journal= Functional Ecology | volume= 9 | issue = 4 | pages= 568–574 | jstor= 2390146 | doi= 10.2307/2390146 | bibcode= 1995FuEco...9..568W}}</ref>