The ordinary starling is widespread on the whole Europe not only thanks to the person who was engaged in resettlement of birds to other countries and continents. A starling – surprisingly an unpretentious bird who easily adapts to any conditions and can nest in any suitable place. Where the starling will find deepening, will become his house.
Where starlings build the nests
The area of dwelling of an ordinary starling is extremely wide: it is widespread in all biogeographical areas, excepting Central and South America. The bird is unpretentious in food (is omnivorous) also the choice of the habitat. The starling ordinary lives in the territory of the whole Europe – to a polar circle in the North and Greece in the south. In cold season the starlings from northern areas fly away to the warm countries: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria. Birds from the South of Europe lead settled lifestyle – it does not make sense to leave the native land to them.
Where do starlings live?
Starlings never rise highly to mountains and live only on flat areas, in swamps, steppes, coastal areas. Usually these birds lodge in deciduous forests near a reservoir, cuttings and fields where they look for a forage, and nests arrange in hollows of trees. If there is no hollow – starlings will find other house.
Starlings well get on with people and meet in rural areas near farms and in larger settlements. The sowed fields become the fodder territory of starlings, and houses and other constructions – to places of a nesting ground.
Construction of a nest
During reproduction the starlings look for the place for a nest. They choose the closed places for the house and willingly lodge on artificially created nesting grounds. As soon as find the suitable place, begin to sing near it loud cheerful songs. Starlings nest in couples or colonies. The female is engaged in construction of a nest. The male helps: brings construction material – a dry grass, branches and another "the necessary garbage". Starlings spread a hollow cavity a soft laying of their grass and feathers. Baby birds of starlings are born helpless. In the first days of life they behave silently that nobody found their location. The male and a female leave behind a forage and leave kids of some. Therefore the place for a nest has to be chosen birds parents with care. Only the few species of starlings nest on the open area, arranging spherical nests with a side entrance on the earth.
Favourite places for a nesting ground
Birds easily adapt to new conditions and can build nests in any place. In effect, the starling suits all emptiness. As places for construction of a nest the starlings choose hollows of trees, niches of buildings, cracks of rocks, steep coast. They are not afraid of the close neighbourhood with people: the nest of a starling can be found under a balcony or a roof of the building. With other birds the starlings are friendly too – their lodges can be found in the bases of big nests of birds of prey. The birdhouses made hands of people are ideal for starlings. Exactly thanks to birdhouses these birds received such distribution. For centuries people attracted to the house of starlings who destroyed mean insects in gardens and kitchen gardens. Starlings lodged near stables and farmyards, destroying blood-sicking insects – gadflies, flies, gadflies. Such neighbourhood did well to starlings, and the area of their dwelling continues to extend.