Finery

Starlings. Ugly, noisy, messy, destructive creatures, right?

Wrong.

Just look at that plumage, and the slender, elegant yellow bill. In their breeding pomp they're beautiful birds. They're also devoted parents: we have a longstanding nest in the roof, with an exit through the soffit beside my study window, so I can see the care the parents take of their young - bringing in a steady supply of food throughout the day, and regularly removing the hatchlings' faecal sacs to keep the nest clean. Then when the youngsters fledge, they trail round the lawn after their surely exhausted parents like hulking great teenagers, still begging for food, and receiving it.

If you want to talk about mess and destruction, ask me about the Jackdaws that dominate the village like an avian family crime syndicate - or rather, don't, because in truth I don't mind them either, though I wish they weren't so voracious and noisy. In contrast to that incessant "Jack! Jack! Jack!" noise, the Starling has a wide range of vocalisations, many of which are quite amusing. I read recently that they've begun to imitate the mewing noise of buzzards - probably not for any particular reason, other than they can, and they enjoy it. And I'm old enough to remember them imitating the electronic ringing noise of trimphones back in the 1970s, accurately enough to fool people into rushing towards their phones, only to stop in embarrassment when it turned out that they'd been fooled again. I picked this one up in the hedgerow opposite the house as I was walking home from an invertebrate hunt this afternoon, because it was making the kind of  "Hyooow, Hyooow" noise you can hear at the start of this recording (which I can't stop listening to, now I've started). I make no claims for the photo, which is just a grab shot, but look at that plumage!! I've done nothing to enhance the image, other than lightening it and cropping.