num_pages: 328
description: The European Starling is one of the most successful birds in the world. It lives in close association with man and has been spread around the world by man, yet it is a bird many people love to hate. The Starling is a garden bird, a woodland bird, a farm bird and a city bird and in all these habitats it conflicts with man to some degree. But this broad adaptability extends to many aspects of the Starling's life and has undoubtably contributed to its success.This book traces the development of the Starling from an arboreal, largely fruit-eating ancestor, probably in south-east Asia, to the ground-dwelling omnivorous bird that we see today.The theme that runs through the book is the species' extraordinary biological success: habitat choice, annual cycles, behaviour, breeding, feeding, flocking, and roosting are all discussed in terms of their contribution to the species' success. The attributes of the Starling which have led to it becoming so numerous and widespread are of considerable interest to ecologists, ethologists, and conservationists, as well as to ornithologists.
language: English
title: The Starling
publisher: Oxford University Press