Stumus Vulgaris

For todays blip I had intended to take a snow related blip, but this opportunity presented itself and so I took it.

It is fair to say that the starling will never hope to attain a place amongst the most popular or most loved of birds that visit the garden, whether that be judged by humans or even by other garden birds. They are noisy, they are bullies, they lack good table manners and they can cause damage They will arrive mob-handed and take over a bird table, only leaving once everything has gone. They lack style and panache and that is even reflected in the latin name, Stumus Vulgaris which hardly conjures up visions of beauty and grace.

Where the starling excels is in the field of song. They mimic other birds and an array of manmade technology such as the mobile phone. We had a starling in the garden who did a beautiful version of our house alarm, which made a loud 'beep beep' sound when it was set. Starlings do not get much credit for their ability as they are impersonator of song rather than a great creator. They are the great tribute act of the bird world.

Starlings are in the category of 'least concerned' on the international conservation list even though their numbers have declined by 80% in the UK between 1966 and 2004. This is has been attributed to the loss of food rich permanent pasture land. That is a staggering statistic and makes one pause for thought.

It is something that I have witnessed myself over the years and it would be great to see more of these pirates of the sky visiting my garden and causing havoc.