Common starling
Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758
The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also called the Eurasian starling or European starling, is a bird in the family Sturnidae of the order Passeriformes, grouped with the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 77 g, up to 82.7 g, and a wingspan of 38 cm.
Quick facts about the common starling
An omnivore, it eats foods including earthworm, beetle, spider, snail, fruit, grain, seed and nectar, and its listed habitat is human-modified land. The species is partially migratory, has a geographic range of 17,080,000 km², and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 77.1 g – 82.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 20 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 38 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 20.7 years – 22.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- amphibia, apis, arthropod, beetle, caddisfly, caelifera and 19 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 12 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 15 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common starling?
Photos of the common starling
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Where does the common starling live?
Not recorded
What is the common starling?
The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, and as the European starling in North America, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of the year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the Mabinogion and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare.
The common starling has about 12 subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to western Mongolia, and it has been introduced as an invasive species to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and Fiji. This bird is resident in western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations migrate south and west in the winter within the breeding range and also further south to Iberia and North Africa. The common starling builds an untidy nest in a natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue eggs are laid. These take two weeks to hatch and the young remain in the nest for another three weeks. There are normally one or two breeding attempts each year. This species is omnivorous, taking a wide range of invertebrates, as well as seeds and fruit. It is hunted by various mammals and birds of prey, and is host to a range of external and internal parasites.
Large flocks typical of this species can be beneficial to agriculture by controlling invertebrate pests; however, starlings can also be pests themselves when they feed on fruit and sprouting crops. Common starlings may also be a nuisance through the noise and mess caused by their large urban roosts. Introduced populations in particular have been subjected to a range of controls, including culling, but these have had limited success, except in preventing the colonisation of Western Australia.
The species has declined in numbers in parts of northern and western Europe since the 1980s due to fewer grassland invertebrates being available as food for growing chicks. Despite this, its huge global population is not thought to be declining significantly, and the common starling is classified as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
From the Wikipedia article “Common starling” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_starling&oldid=1382838855), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common starling sound like?
Is the common starling endangered?
The common starling is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common starling classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySturnidae
- genusSturnus
- SpeciesSturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Sturnus domesticus, Sturnus europaeus, Sturnus guttatus, Sturnus hollandiae, Sturnus longirostris, Sturnus nitens, Sturnus punctatus, Sturnus septentrionalis, Sturnus solitarius, Sturnus sylvestris, Sturnus tenuirostris, Sturnus varius, Turdus solitarius
Other names and names in other languages (156)
- COSTEnglish
- Eurasian starlingEnglish
- European starlingEnglish
- StarlingEnglish
- Europese SpreeuAfrikaans
- StoreAlbanian
- الزرزورArabic
- زرزور أوروبيArabic
- زرزور شائعArabic
- EstornelAragonese
- EstornínAsturian
- estornín pintuAsturian
- сиргъичAvaric
- ИшкӀакӀоAvaric
- ЧӀегӀерхӀинчӀAvaric
- Adi sığırçınAzerbaijani
- Звычайны шпакBelarusian
- Шпак (звычайны)Belarusian
- Обикновен скорецBulgarian
- চিত্রা শালিকBangla
- DredBreton
- Dred boutinBreton
- estornell comúCatalan
- Estornell vulgarCatalan
- Лачокла шӹнгӹртӹшMari
- ШӑнкӑрчChuvash
- ШӑнкӑрчӑChuvash
- Ахаль шӑнкӑрчChuvash
- ШăнкăрчChuvash
- špaček obecnýCzech
- SkórcKashubian
- DrudwyWelsh
- drudwenWelsh
- DrudwennodWelsh
- StarGerman
- Gemeiner StarGerman
- ŠkórcLower Sorbian
- ΨαρόνιGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκό ΨαρόνιGreek
- (Ευρωπαϊκό) ΨαρόνιGreek
- Eŭropa sturnoEsperanto
- ordinara sturnoEsperanto
- Estornino pintoSpanish
- Estornino pinto eurasiáticoSpanish
- Estornino pinto europeoSpanish
- kuldnokkEstonian
- Arabazozo pikartBasque
- سار معمولیPersian
- پرى شاهرخ طلايیPersian
- kottarainenFinnish
- Etourneau sansonnetFrench
- Étourneau sansonnetFrench
- SprianNorthern Frisian
- SturnelFriulian
- ProtterWestern Frisian
- druidScottish Gaelic
- druideagScottish Gaelic
- druideanScottish Gaelic
- Estorniño pintoGalician
- TrutlagManx
- GuyrajuhũGuarani
- זרזירHebrew
- זרזיר מצויHebrew
- Šareni čvorakCroatian
- seregélyHungarian
- Սովորական սարյակArmenian
- SturnoIdo
- StariIcelandic
- StornoItalian
- Storno comuneItalian
- ホシムクドリJapanese
- მოლაღურიGeorgian
- oqalloriusaqKalaallisut
- Posh NoolKashmiri
- БжэндэхъуKabardian
- Парчыхkjh
- ҚараторғайKazakh
- 흰점찌르레기Korean
- CîqKurdish
- TrosCornish
- SpréifLuxembourgish
- SpréiwLuxembourgish
- чІулав нуькІLezghian
- SjprièwLimburgish
- VarnėnasLithuanian
- paprastasis varnėnasLithuanian
- mājas strazdsLatvian
- шырчыкMari
- TāringiMāori
- обичен сколовранецMacedonian
- കാളിക്കിളിMalayalam
- SturnellMaltese
- Европ тодолMongolian
- SpreeLow German
- SpreenLow German
- spreeuwDutch
- stærNorwegian
- Êtournénrm
- EstornèlOccitan
- СауцъиуOssetic
- Chuchubi OropeoPapiamento
- EtornieuPicard
- Szpak zwyczajnyPolish
- SzpakPolish
- szpak (zwyczajny)Polish
- StornelPiedmontese
- estorninho-malhadoPortuguese
- estorninhoPortuguese
- GraurRomanian
- СкворецRussian
- Обыкновенный скворецRussian
- Скворец русскийRussian
- ШпакRusyn
- StirlinScots
- StárraNorthern Sami
- sávzaloddiNorthern Sami
- škorec obyčajnýSlovak
- škorecSlovenian
- Navadni škorecSlovenian
- LeholiSouthern Sotho
- gargaAlbanian
- Cerloi i zi pikaloshAlbanian
- cërloi i zi pikaloshAlbanian
- cirloiAlbanian
- garbuli i rëndomtëAlbanian
- garbuli laramanAlbanian
- gargulliAlbanian
- shtura kriklliAlbanian
- чворциSerbian
- ЧворакSerbian
- ČvorakSerbian
- Obični čvorak/Обични чворакSerbian
- SturruSardinian
- SpräieSaterland Frisian
- stareSwedish
- Kwenzi wa UlayaSwahili
- Manja kiliTamil
- นกกิ้งโครงพันธุ์ยุโรปThai
- ስታርሊንግTigrinya
- SığyrcıkTurkmen
- Misi pālangiTongan
- Misi PalangiTongan
- ZevzirTurkish
- Bayağı sığırcıkTurkish
- sığırcıkTurkish
- Кара-баарзыкTuvinian
- ЮберUdmurt
- шпак звичайнийUkrainian
- Шпак (звичайний)Ukrainian
- StorloVenetian
- Sáo đáVietnamese
- SpreweWalloon
- 欧椋鸟Chinese
- 歐洲椋鳥Chinese
- 歐洲椋鳥〔紫翅椋鳥〕Chinese
- 紫翅椋鸟Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common starling
Other species in the same genus Sturnus.
CompareCommon starling vs Spotless starlingCommon starling vs Sturnus ludovicianusCommon starling vs Sturnus montanusCommon starling vs Sturnus nabirop
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common starling?
The common starling is a bird in the family Sturnidae and the order Passeriformes. It belongs to the songbirds and other perching birds.
How big is the common starling?
The common starling has an adult body mass of 77 g, up to 82.7 g, and a wingspan of 38 cm. It falls in the small size class.
What does the common starling eat?
The common starling is an omnivore. Its main foods include earthworm, beetle, caddisfly, mayfly, spider, snail, formicidae, fruit, grain, seed and nectar.
Is the common starling endangered?
No. The common starling is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common starling live?
The common starling has a lifespan of 20.7 years, with values up to 22.9 years reported.
How many eggs does the common starling lay?
The common starling lays clutches of 5 eggs, with 2 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 12 days.
When does the common starling reach maturity?
The common starling reaches sexual maturity at 1.1 years, with reported values from 1.0 to 1.2 years.
Who named the common starling?
The common starling was named Sturnus vulgaris by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starling
“Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starling.
@misc{common_starling_2026,
title = {Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starling},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}