# Common starling (*Sturnus vulgaris*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starling  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 77.1 g – 82.7 g |
| Length | 20 cm |
| Wingspan | 38 cm |
| Lifespan | 20.7 years – 22.9 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | amphibia, apis, arthropod, beetle, caddisfly, caelifera and 19 more |
| Habitat | human_modified |
| Egg incubation | 12 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 – 5 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 15 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Sturnidae
- genus: Sturnus
- species: *Sturnus 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starling