The starling was not successful at every charge, but enough so that he was continued the escapade until the robin flew off to find a starling-free lawn. The robin had the skills to find and pull the worms, but the starling and the aggressiveness and cunning to steal them away. European starlings have spread over North America from a couple of hundred birds introduced into New York City by a lover of Shakespeare who wanted to see all of Shakespeare's birds in the new country. They are so successful because of the skills I witnessed - their aggressiveness, and their taking of the habitats of native birds. Starlings have even been known to chase much larger Flickers out of their nesting cavities.
Starlings tend to flock together when feeding.
If a hawk appears the flock tightens for protection. These medium size black or brownish birds molt their feathers feathers in the fall. The new feather tips are whitish, giving the bird a speckled appearance. Over the winter sunlight and weather dulls the speckled look, and the bird becomes uniform dark brown or black. Starling beaks are yellow during the spring breeding season.