European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilySturnidae (Starlings)
- GenusSturnus (European and Spotless Starlings)
- SpeciesSturnus vulgaris (European 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. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Taroko National Park
Javan Myna
Acridotheres javanicus
White-shouldered Starling
Sturnia sinensis
Red-billed Starling
Spodiopsar sericeus
White-cheeked Starling
Spodiopsar cineraceus
Large-billed Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
Taiwan Yuhina
Yuhina brunneiceps
White-eared Sibia
Heterophasia auricularis
Green-backed Tit
Parus monticolus
Steere's Liocichla
Liocichla steerii
Asian House Martin
Delichon dasypus
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
White-whiskered Laughingthrush
Trochalopteron morrisonianum
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of European Starling at Taroko National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there