In the UK most people are aware of the Common Starling (right - Liz M photographed these two during a bird group trip to Spurn). But what do they know about over 100 other species which make up family Sturnidae and what do Grackles have to do with it?
Family Sturnidae, lists 114 species found mainly in Africa and Asia with a few in Australia. In Australia and Asia some members of the family are called Mynas rather than Starlings.
During a visit to Australia the Common Myna (left) was as common in urban areas as the Common Starling is in the UK. One species called the Coleto is a forest bird endemic to the Philippines.
Two species, the Oxpeckers, and at least one Starling are associated with cattle. They are thought to have evolved before all the species mentioned above and are likely to be placed in their own family in due course.
Habitats are many and various. In general terms Starlings are found in open country, favouring woodland, forest and areas of human activity. Some species like rocky hills and are cliff nesters. That is probably why they have taken to nesting in tall buildings in urban areas. They eat insects and fruit and can be seen either perched in the canopy or feeding on the ground.
Starlings are very much birds of the Old World. In Africa 32 species are found in open woodlands and savanna with about 13 further species being forest birds.
The Superb Starling (right) was photographed during our trip to Kenya in November 2009. In Asia the position is reversed with 39 species found in evergreen forests and 24 are found in open areas often close to human activity. These birds have proved to be very adaptable and species have found their own niches at different elevations ranging from sea level to about 5000 metres. This being so I would expect Starlings and their counterparts to be found in most parts of the world.
In the New World, with the exception of the Common Starling and a few species of Mynas present by introduction, no other species of family Sturnidae are present.
But, sure enough the same habitat and behaviour is home to another group of birds, the Grackles. Ten species spread across North, Central and South America are listed in family Icteridae. The Great-tailed Grackle (left) photographed in Texas, has a glossy, iridescent body like the Starling. They walk around lawns and fields on their long legs or gather in noisy groups high in trees, typically evergreens.
Five other species listed in family Icteridae are also of interest here. They are the Meadowlarks.
These birds can open their beaks whilst probing the ground in the same way that Starlings do when they take leatherjackets. The image on the right is the Eastern Meadowlark photographed in Arizona in 2006.
I have seen it suggested that the Mockingbirds and Thrashers, in family Mimidae, may be the New World counterparts of the Starlings. It has also been suggested that families Sturnidae and Mimidae are close relatives of each other. Whether or not this is true Mockingbirds and Thrashers occupy thick bushy habitats rather than open wooded country and certainly don’t behave like Starlings.
