Starling - a bird belonging to the order of the Passeriformes, the family of starling. The length of the body is about 23 cm, and the weight is about 75 g. Due to the short neck and massive body, the impression of clumsiness is created. His legs are strong with big
bent claws. Beak is long, thin, yellow, slightly lowered down. The tail is shortened, straight. In spring, the starling has a black coloring with metallic luster. A bird whose plumage description depends on the time of the year turns black with white dots by the fall.
Almost everyone has known about the benefits of an ordinary starling, which was discussed above. In the spring, they walk through fields, parks and gardens, looking for and eating insects and larvae. In the summer they feed on caterpillars and bugs, and during the period of feeding the chicks they fly to the nest about 300 times a day, bringing several bugs each time.
An ordinary starling is a migratory bird that overwinter flies to warm countries, usually to northern Africa or southern Europe. After such trips, various “potpourri” appear in the repertoire of this singing bird, including “African melodies” borrowed from birds during the winter.
Many people associate a starling with a birdhouse, and yet it is a forest bird that arranges its nests in hollows on trees. But finding them is not easy. And a person wants to settle this useful bird closer to himself, so he sets birdhouses. And “work” is always close to human habitation.
In addition to the ordinary species, an interesting representative of this family is the pink starling - a bird that fully justifies its name. It settles near steppes, desert or semi-desert plains, as it feeds mainly on locusts. Of course, if it is not there, then it can eat other insects. But the locust is the main thing. For her sake, he is able to fly a great distance. A pink starling can eat up to 200 grams of locusts (twice its weight) per day. The bird and her offspring feed her.
These birds move in dense swarms. From a distance it seems that this is some kind of pink cloud. Having fallen to the ground, they continue to move in one direction,
collecting and eating insects on the run. Pink starling - a peace-loving bird, fights and quarrels between them do not arise. They settle in colonies of several hundred pairs. Nests are arranged in crevices of rocks, in various burrows, between stones.
And this earring starling belongs to this family - a bird, which only in size is similar to relatives, living exclusively in Africa. She received the adjective in the name because during the breeding season, the males have fleshy growths resembling catkins on the head. They build nests on trees, and not in hollows, using many dry twigs, creating a domed structure. There can be many such "houses" on one plant, because this bird is also colonial. Feeding exclusively on locusts, catfish starling. The bird even hatches chicks at a time when these insects stop moving and stop for breeding. With the resumption of locust movement, the birds move away and follow it.
Such starlings are different, but all of them are certainly useful for humans. Some nations even consider it a crime to kill this wonderful bird.
