Why do starlings pick aromatic plants?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

September 15, 2004

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It was a case of "the third time's a charm". Two attempts to introduce the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) to North America failed. The third time, in 1890, sixty starlings were released in New York's Central Park. A little over half a century later, starlings had spread all the way to the Pacific. Now, in places like Joplin, Missouri and Tampa, Florida around the end of December, starlings number in the millions.

Starlings have associated with humans since the advent of agriculture. They are omnivores that prefer hunting insects in open pastures and fields and partake of fruit, berries, and grain. The birds make excellent pets and mimic speech and music. Pliny the Elder even mentions that Britannicus and Nero, "...the young princes had a starling and also nightingales that were actually trained to talk Greek and Latin, and moreover practiced diligently and spoke new phrases every day, in still longer sentences." (Book X, Natural History, trans. H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library, reprinted 1997)

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Starlings, though, have wreaked havoc on the populations of native birds especially cavity nesters like bluebirds, wrens, and woodpeckers. When starlings find a nesting site, they simply evict the current owners. Once used by starlings, the cavity remains unusable by other birds. ("European Starling", The Birder's Handbook, A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds, Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, 1988)

Ectoparasites like lice and mites attack most birds. These parasites are detrimental to the health of nestlings. Male starlings bring aromatic botanicals—yarrow (Achillea millefolium), elder (Sambucus), Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota), and hogweed (Heracleum)—to the nest. It was assumed the aromatic leaves suppressed the parasite load in the nest and starlings have very messy nests.

Exposed to aromatic plants, starling chicks are hardy creatures. The parasite population does not matter to the chicks, nor does the poor housekeeping. According to Julie Craves, it was discovered "that some plants used in starling nests had chemical components that stimulated the immune systems of nestlings, enabling them to cope better with environmental stress, malnutrition, and the detrimental effects of ectoparasites." ("Since You Asked", Julie Craves, Birder's World, October 2004)

But the lousy housekeeping does matter to other birds that may want to use the nest cavity. It is simply too filthy and too full of parasites. The starlings will return to use the cavity again and they won't have to evict other birds. They will remove some of the previous year's nesting material, build new on top, and add more aromatic leaves.

It is a matter of taste. If you wish to keep a starling as a pet, StarlingTalk is a great website to learn about the care, feeding, and training of starlings. To learn more, click on the link:

http://www.starlingtalk.com/

If you wish to keep starlings at bay, The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has an excellent publication on controlling starlings around homes and farms. To view this publication, "European Starlings", click on the link:

http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu/handbook/handbook/allPDF/bir_e109.pdf

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading:

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Bird Wars The Potting Bench - August 27, 2001
What is swallowwort? What's in a Name? - May 6, 2005
What is the mystery of mistletoe cactus? Weird Plants - March 3, 2005
For what animal were the Canary Islands named? What's in a Name? - December 12, 2003

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