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Species
Sturnus vulgaris (Linnaeus)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
European starlings were first introduced to the United States in New York City, in 1890. Eugene Scheffland let loose one hundred starlings in Central Park, because he wanted every animal in William Shakespeare's plays to be found in the United States. From these 100 birds, there was rapid growth and spread. Within 75 years, European starlings had spread across almost all of North America.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Sturnus_vulgaris/ |
Global Range: Native to Eurasia; introduced in the U.S. in New York City in 1890. Now breeds from southeastern Alaska, across southern Canada, south through most of U.S. to southern Mexico; also in Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (very local in the late 1980s). Periodically reported from St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Reported casually in Hawaii.
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Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Sturnus+vulgaris |
The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a small bird native to Europe but now widely distributed throughout the U.S. In both males and females, the nape, breast and back are covered in iridescent green glossed feathers while the wings are black, sometimes with a sheen that is green or purple in color. The breast may become flecked with white during the winter months. The legs are reddish brown and the irises are dark brown, and the bill is yellow during mating season and black for the remainder of the year (Weber 1979, Craig and Feare 1999, Chow 2000).Some sexual dimorphism exists. Males have elongate breast feathers and a bluish spot at the base of the beak whereas females have short breast plumage and a reddish pink speck at the base of the beak. Juveniles have more rounded wing tips and brownish-black bills (Weber 1979, Craig and Feare 1999).The vocalizations of S. vulgaris are variable and complex, consisting of warbles, clicks, whistles, creaks, chirrups, chips, gurgles and other component sounds (Chow 2000).
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Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Sturnus_vulgaris.htm |
鉴别特征 通体黑色,具紫铜色和暗绿色金属光泽,有时还布有白斑。
形态 (据西疆亚种)
雄鸟(冬羽):头暗绿色,各羽具淡黄色端斑;背、肩、腰和尾上覆羽概紫铜色,具淡黄羽端;飞羽黑色,外翈为淡黄狭缘,并有灰褐色次端斑,内侧次级飞羽为辉绿黑色次端斑,内翈灰褐,羽干为黑色;初级覆羽为沾绿绒黑色,余部浓紫铜色,具暗绿光泽;尾羽褐色,羽干黑色;耳、颊及喉部均金属绿色;颈侧和前颈紫红;胸和腹紫铜色;两胁、尾下覆羽和腿羽紫铜色,羽端稍缀淡黄;头、背和喉、胸部羽均为矛状。
雌鸟:形态与雄鸟相似。
虹膜褐色;嘴峰夏季黄色、冬季褐色;跗蹠及爪红褐色。
量衡度:
性别 体重 全长 嘴峰 翅 尾 跗蹠
♂♂(5) 77—85 201.2 28.6 125.7 66.2 31
(178—215) (26.5—31) (116.6—130)(64—72) (29.2—33)
♀♀(5) 75—90 199 27.7 123.8 71.6 31.2
(181—215)(26.5—30)(122—127)(64—90) (29.5—32.5)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | EOL China Regional Center |
Source | No source database. |
European starlings grow to a length of about 21.5 centimeters (8.5 inches). They weigh between 2.5 and 3.5 ounces. Both males and females have iridescent green glossed feathers covering the body. The black wings sometimes have a highlight of green and purple. In winter, when the tips of the feathers have eroded away, a white or cream colored "flecking" appears against a dusky black background, primarily on the breast. The shape of these feathers is rounded at the base and jagged toward the tip. Males have elongated feathers over the breast. Females have short and petite plumes.
Starling legs are reddish brown. Their eyes are dark brown. The bill is yellow during the mating season, and black the rest of the year. Males have a bluish spot at the base of their beaks, while the female displays a reddish pink speck. Young birds are overall pale-brown until they grow their adult feathers. Young birds have a brownish-black bill all year.
Range mass: 70.0 to 100.0 g.
Average length: 21.5 cm.
Average wingspan: 40.0 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Average basal metabolic rate: 0.877 W.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Sturnus_vulgaris/ |
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / parasite / endoparasite
Brachylaimus fuscatus endoparasitises small intestine (first third) of Sturnus vulgaris
Remarks: Other: uncertain
Animal / parasite / ectoparasite / blood sucker
nymph of Ixodes ricinus sucks the blood of Sturnus vulgaris
Animal / parasite / ectoparasite
imago of Ornithomya avicularia ectoparasitises Sturnus vulgaris
Animal / parasite / endoparasite
Prosthorhynchus cylindraceus endoparasitises small intestine (middle third) of Sturnus vulgaris
Animal / parasite / endoparasite
Syngamus trachea endoparasitises trachea of Sturnus vulgaris
Nests are parasite-free: starling
Starlings protect their chicks from parasitic insects by lining their nests with certain herbs.
"Similarly, in 2000 Dr. Helga Gwinner and a team of researchers from the Ornithological Unit of Germany's Max Planck Society revealed that starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) lined their nests with herbs that ward off or kill nest parasites, such as fleas, lice, and mites. Experiments in which some nestlings were reared in nests lacking these herbs (and in which parasites therefore thrived) showed that these nestlings were anemic; nestlings reared in herb-lined nests were heavier and had stronger immune systems, as confirmed by the presence of greater quantities of infection-fighting cells in their blood." (Shuker 2001:218)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/9035dd018880a19554c79b58f95d6d73 |
European starlings are beneficial to our environment because they eat pests that threaten agriculture. Starlings work indirectly to reduce numbers of the major insects that damage farm crops. The European starling is also beneficial as a food source for some cultures along the Mediterranean Sea.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Sturnus_vulgaris/ |
亚种分化 紫翅椋鸟计有11个亚种,中国有2个亚种。
亚种检索
背部为金属绿色…………………………………………………………北疆亚种 S.v.poltaratskyi
背部为金属紫色………………………………………………………西疆亚种 S.v.porphyronotus
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | 许维枢,1998, EOL China Regional Center |
Source | No source database. |
Length: 22 cm
Weight: 85 grams