Re: Starlings

They seem to have emigrated to the U.S., along with the sparrows.  Actually 
they were imported into the U.S., along with other English birds, because 
one settler decided that the New World should have all the birds mentioned 
by the Bard...  If there were ever a time machine, this man would be in 
trouble!

Starlings nest in trees by the thousands in the midwest - a popular trick 
among high-schoolers was to walk under such a tree in the evening, throw a 
stick up into it and then run, leaving your companions behind to be "rained" 
upon as the startled birds took off....:)  Lincoln, Nebraska, recently 
undertook an eradication program because the buildup of guano on sidewalks 
and cars downtown every evening was just too much.

But aside from the mess, they are also displacing native birds.  Bluebirds 
used to be a common sight in midwestern cities when my father was a child; 
now you are lucky to see one even in rural areas, because they are pushed 
out of their nesting holes by sparrows and starlings.  In Arkansas where my 
mother lives, there has been a program of putting nest boxes around.  The 
holes are just large enough for bluebirds but too small for starlings and 
sparrows, and bluebirds have made an amazing comeback; I saw flocks of them 
last time I visited.  However, the house finch, another European import  
that expands more slowly, is now moving into the area.  They are about the 
same size as bluebirds and are displacing them again.  As nobody is quite 
sure how to handle this development; it seems that in the long run, 
bluebirds are going to lose the fight.

Bob

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