Mesmerizing Murmurations - Story of Starling

If you are a homeowner, you’ll likely have a few encounters with the Common Starling. These medium-sized birds are notorious for being noisy, nesting inside roofs, and attacking fruits or crops, often in flocks numbering hundreds to thousands. Common Starling, also known as the European Starling, enjoys a wide range of geographic dispersion, including Europe, Asia, Africa, northern Australia, North America, New Zealand, Hawaii, and a few outlying Pacific islands for good measure.

They appear dark brown or black in plumage, with sporadic small yellow dots on the feathers and stocky in build, medium-length pointed yellow bills, and short tailfeathers, comparatively speaking. ?With an overall adult length of around eight inches, Starlings are known to have two breeding cycles per year, laying pale blue eggs and hatching approximately two weeks later. This obviously influences how pervasive Starling numbers can reach, often to the contempt of farmers worldwide, as they can be quite destructive to buildings and leave an equally high amount of waste. ?

Many bird species are naturally social and regularly travel in flocks of varying sizes. However, few species rival the sheer numbers of starlings who, when in flocks of 500+, are referred to as a “murmuration.” These “murmurations” are often associated with the evening when they gather to find roosting accommodations and congregate to aid with increased defensive outlook capabilities.

Starling murmurations have long been a spectacle for onlookers, whether dedicated ornithologists or casual observers; the synchronous swooping and diving antics bring delight and intrigue to anyone within visual of the display. The largest alleged murmuration ever recorded was at Shapwick Heath in Somerset, a nature reserve in Glastonbury, UK, and totaled over six million Starling in flight!

Carl Linnaeus is attributed with the first official recording of the species in 1758 for his book Systema Naturae. Classification is as follows: Starlings are of the family Sturnidae, totaling 128 species and 36 genus types. Interestingly, Sturdinae is a subcategory of Passerine, and passerine is attributed to any bird type of the Passeriformes order, which includes more than half of all bird species! So if ever in doubt when seeing a bird, if you casually mention it might be a Passerine, you have a fifty-percent plus chance of being right!

Starlings are opportunistic and aggressive eaters with an omnivorous diet of seeds, berries, nuts, grains, and animals such as spiders, larvae, caterpillars, or worms. When breeding season occurs, or, depending on location, a migration is upcoming, they will shift their diet to consist of insects to boost energy levels primarily.

Despite the propensity to eat insects, the Starling has an unusual relationship with a different insect, the European Wood Ant. Like other birds, starlings preen themselves as a regular grooming habit to remove mites, parasites, or other nuisance attractants acquired throughout their daily routine. For Starlings, simply preening feathers with their beak is not always practical. Thus, they have developed a unique characteristic. Like many other ants, European Wood Ants produce a concentrated formic acid, which assists in avoiding predation while also aiding in the capture of food. Starlings have developed another use for this formic acid; they will grab an ant in their beak and rub it across their body, causing the release of formic acid on and under their feathers.

Why would they do this? Scientists believe it is two-fold. First, it helps alleviate the itch of new feather growth and relieves pain. Secondly, formic acid is lethal to feather mites, acting as a low-level acid bath, eliminating discomfort, and aiding in more sustainable survival with a healthier overall population. Proper hygiene protects the general population when a species gathers in the hundreds, thousands, or millions.

Lesson: Just as Starling is opportunistic and aggressive in its eating habits, companies must be similarly vigilant and proactive in gathering information about their competitors. Like Starling's ability to adapt its diet based on breeding seasons or migrations, companies must adjust their strategies based on changing market conditions or competitor actions. Starlings use formic acid to protect themselves from parasites and promote overall population health. This parallels how competitive intelligence can help companies identify threats and vulnerabilities and develop strategies to mitigate them, ensuring long-term survival and success in the marketplace.?

TLDR: Common Starlings, known for their noisy and destructive behavior, have wide geographic dispersion and form large flocks called murmurations. These murmurations are a spectacle to behold. Starlings exhibit unique characteristics such as opportunistic eating habits and a symbiotic relationship with European Wood Ants. Proper hygiene practices, like rubbing ants on their bodies, help them maintain healthier populations.