Granddad’s Camera
Starling, as it appears in the game

No.005 · Birds · Common

Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Up close it is a glossy, oil-slick bird speckled with stars in winter; in the evening, thousands twist together in vast smoke-like murmurations before dropping into roost.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn, day and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Dusk, October–February, for murmurations; garden and field flocks by day all year.
Where in the game
Millbrook (urban, farmland, park, garden and canal)
Size
Length about 22 cm
Wingspan
About 40 cm
Weight
About 85 g (BTO adult average)
Lifespan
Average about 5 years; the oldest ringed bird lived over 17 years (Wildlife Trusts, BTO)
Population
About 1.8 million pairs in the UK (BTO, 2016)
Status
Red (Birds of Conservation Concern 5, 2021)

Diet

Leatherjackets and other soil insects on grass; berries and scraps in winter; will visit feeders for fat and suet.

Habitat

Farmland, towns, parks and reedbeds; roosts in reeds, trees and buildings.

Breeding

Nests in holes in buildings and trees from April; 4–5 pale blue eggs, 1–2 broods; the young fledge from May in gangs.

Field signs

  • Whistles, clicks and mimicked sounds from a rooftop or aerial, often with wing-waving
  • Swirling flocks over reedbeds or piers at dusk; a rushing sound of many wings
  • Purple-green iridescent adults; spotted in winter, plainer brown-grey juveniles

Did you know?

  • A murmuration can involve thousands of birds, each reacting to about seven neighbours rather than to the whole flock, which is why the shape flows so smoothly.
  • Starlings mimic other birds, car alarms and mobile phones.
  • British starlings have fallen by about 61% since 1995 (BTO), and winter flocks are swelled by birds that fly in from northern and eastern Europe.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Murmuration October to March, dusk
    Thousands of starlings pour across the sky at dusk, folding and unfolding like smoke before dropping into the roost.
  • Mimicry on the aerial March to June, dawn and day
    A male starling on a TV aerial pours out clicks and whistles, adding a perfect car alarm.

Photo tip

Shoot murmurations from a fixed spot, before the sun has set; expose for the bright sky and let the birds go dark against it, using 1/1000 s or faster. Come back several evenings as the flock's route changes.

Be a good naturalist

Stay well away from roosts and keep still: a disturbed murmuration may abandon its roost. Never use lights or drones near them.

The law

All wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; it is an offence to kill, injure or take them or damage an active nest.

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