|
Invasive Starlings were brought to the United States in the 1890's by Eugene Schiefflen (1). Eugene Schiefflen was a drug manufacturer and Shakespeare lover who was determined to introduce every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works to the United States (1). He released 100 birds into New York City's Central Park, and as of right now, there are over 200 million Starlings currently spread across North America, making them the one of the most numerous birds in North America (2).
As of now, Starlings are considered Pest birds in North America. They contribute to a numerous amount of damages that cost the United States millions of dollars every year (2). First off, Starlings are a very competitive type species and compete with birds such as bluebirds, flickers, and woodpeckers for nesting space (2). Along with taking their nests, Starlings violently throw out eggs found in those nests, and often times end up killing them in order to inhabit their nest (1). With that action alone, Starlings have caused a major decline in numbers for nest cavity species (1).
Starlings, along with other pest birds, practice in the form of communal roosting (2). Communal Roosting is practiced usually by large flocks of birds, in which they all roost together in several trees (3). Some communal roosts made by starlings could house up to about 10,000 birds (2). Communal Roosts have become a large issue because they inflict upon large amounts of damage to trees (2). Droppings, especially when found near communal roosts, may actually reach 1 ft in depth and are found to be phytotoxic, in which can kill mature trees (2).
Other issues found in correlation to Starlings include agricultural damage to certain crops such as blueberries, strawberries, figs, apples, and ripening corn (2). Airborne starlings are often times found to be caught in plane engines, and can cause serious damage to the interior of the plane (2).
|