Juvenile Starling Braving The Rain

The European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris - is known simply as the Starling in GB probably because it is so common and often appears in great numbers both in the sky and on the garden where they will eat everything in sight if they can get at it. They even manage to get a claw hold on things you wouldn't think they could just to get at food. Adults have glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen which is speckled with white at some times of year. Their legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer. Juveniles, like this one, have browner plumage. They will eat fruit, crops, insects and anything they can scavenge but are also host to a range of both internal and external parasites. They were introduced to North America in the nineteenth century. This juvenile was braving the weather to get some food from our bird table.

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