Fun Spotless Starling Facts For Kids

Spotless starlings are birds of the world who inhabit the region in the Iberian Peninsula, northwestern Africa, southernmost France (southwest European continent), and some Mediterranean islands of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. They are dark-colored bird species in the Sturnidae family. They have a small round head, short legs, and a small tail.

Their body is darker black in color with an oily gloss. Their beaks change color twice a year. They are either darker colored or yellow colored with blue and pink tips.

Their body size is between 8.3-9 in (21–23 cm), and they weigh between 2.5-3.5 oz (70–100 g). Their breeding season starts in March. During their breeding season, they mate with different partners, and apart from their breeding season, they live in groups.

After mating, they lay 2-5 pale eggs. These pale eggs are mostly green-purple in color. The young birds are brown in color.

This was just a small description. Further in the article, there are interesting and funny facts about this bird.

If you like reading random bird facts, then check our sanderling facts and common swift facts pages.

Spotless Starling Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a spotless starling?

The spotless starling is a type of bird. They are endemic to a region in the Iberian Peninsula, northwestern Africa, southernmost France in the European continent, and the islands of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia.

What class of animal does a spotless starling belong to?

The spotless starling bird belongs to the class Aves. They belong to the order Passeriformes, family Sturnidae, and genus Sturnus. Their binomial nomenclature is Sturnus unicolor. Their distribution range is restricted to a particular region.

How many spotless starlings are there in the world?

Spotless starlings are categorized under the conservation status of Least Concern. So counting them in numbers is a bit difficult. The population count of relative birds (other starlings) are available, but the population count of specifically spotless starling birds is not available.

Where does a spotless starling live?

Finding starlings on a map is not that tough. Spotless starlings are birds of the world who inhabit open spaces. They can be found in the ground areas, pastures, and open woodlands. They are the Least Concern bird species that are growing in numbers.

What is a spotless starling's habitat?

Spotless starling bird species enjoy a wide range of habitats. Their population distribution is restricted to certain areas. On a map, this bird species can be found in the Iberian Peninsula, northwestern Africa, southernmost France, and in the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Specifically in West Eurasia and North Africa on the map.

Who do spotless starlings live with?

Spotless starling bird species are social in nature. They live in flocks. They can be seen in groups doing their day-to-day responsibilities.

How long does a spotless starling live?

There is no information available on how long a starling bird lives. But common starlings or European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have an average life span of around two to three years. The highest age a starling bird lived up to is 22 years and a few months.

How do they reproduce?

Spotless starling birds are polygynous species in nature. That means they mate with multiple partners during their breeding season. The breeding season in these birds varies from place to place.

Breeding starts in spring. In some places, the breeding starts from April, and in other places, breeding starts from early March. But their breeding season lasts up to the month of July.

The breeding happens in groups between multiple pairs. These starling birds do their nesting in other birds' abandoned nests. They also lay their eggs in tree holes made by woodpeckers or other animals or birds.

They even lay their eggs in suitable urban structures such as wall cups or building cavities. After fixing the nesting spot, females lay three to five eggs. The laid eggs are pale blue-green, sometimes slightly purple in color.

The eggs then go through an incubation period of 11-15 days. And then eventually, the chick comes out. Some parasite birds like cuckoos lay their eggs in spotless starling nests, but females smartly remove them from their nests.

What is their conservation status?

Spotless starlings are considered under the conservation status of Least Concern species. They inhabit their habitat in adequate numbers. Their population number is increasing, and their distribution range is expanding towards the north.

Spotless Starling Fun Facts

What do spotless starlings look like?

Spotless starling birds are small species of birds that inhabit the western Mediterranean region. The adult spotless starling are very closely related to the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) birds, also known as European starling.

Spotless starling birds' plumage is very dark in color. Their feathers (plumage) are short, oily (glossy) black in color which emits a purple-green reflection when in bright light. Their whole body feathers (plumage) are glossy black in color—their plumage changes in different seasons.

In summer, their body feathers become totally dark without a single spot. And in winter, their body feathers grow small pale spots on them.

These birds have a round head, and under the head part, on their throat, they have long feathers, which makes it seem like they have a beard on their throat. They have beautiful long wings.

These starling bird species have short pink legs and short tails. In winter, the pink color of their short leg gets a bit darkened.

The color of their bill also changes during summer and winter. In winter, the color of their bill becomes very dark. And in summer, the beak becomes bright yellow-colored with a bluish base in males and a slightly pinkish base in females.

Their body length is between 8.3-9 in (21–23 cm). Their body weight is around 2.5-3.5 oz (70–100 g).

How cute are they?

Spotless starlings are normal or decent-looking birds. They bear a destructive nature and cause economic damage to humans by destroying crops.

How do they communicate?

The spotless starling species communicate through their mimicry song. Male starlings sing their song the whole year. During the start of their breeding or nesting season around March, both sexes start singing songs that sound somewhat melodious.

Female starlings sing during winter as well. These species have the ability to do mimicry of other birds' calls. Other than their mimicry and melodious songs, this bird species can be very noisy when they become aggressive.

How big is a spotless starling?

Eurasian spotless starling species are small-medium size birds that grow to a normal range. Their body length is between 8.3-9 in (21–23 cm).

How fast can a spotless starling fly?

There is no exact information available about their flight speed. But their relative species, the European starling, flight speed is around 37.3–49.7 mph (60-80 kph). The flight speed of a starling bird is very good.

How much does a spotless starling weigh?

Spotless starlings are small-medium size bird species that are not that heavy. Their average weight ranges between 2.5-3.5 oz (70–100 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to the male or female spotless starlings — their plumage changes during summer and winter accordingly.

What would you call a baby spotless starling?

Like all other baby or young bird species, baby or young starlings are also called chicks. Their egg is pale green-blue or light purple in color.

What do they eat?

Starling species are primarily omnivorous in nature. During summers, they feed on invertebrates such as insects, frogs, small rodents. And in winter, they feed on seeds, fruits, and other vegetables.

Are they poisonous?

No, spotless starling species are not poisonous in nature. Actually, no starling species are poisonous in nature. But starlings are short-tempered and aggressive birds. They often attack other birds, and sometimes they may attack humans too.

Would they make a good pet?

Spotless starlings are not kept as pets generally. Rather the European starling is kept as pets because of their bonding nature and beautiful plumage. Owning a European starling, spotless starling is not illegal.

Did you know...

The Starlings' population in America has grown so much that a portion of their population is killed each year. Scientists and specialists state that the assassination of these species causes no threat to their population rather balances it.

Why is the starling a problem?

Starlings are birds of the world who are an introduced species in North America. They were introduced in controllable numbers, but now their population is growing rapidly in North America. These aggressive bird species have a habit of destroying crops which causes economic loss. They also invade buildings for laying eggs which causes a serious mess.

Difference between the spotless starling and the European starling?

The spotless starling and the European starling are very much similar in terms of looks. But have some differences too. Some common difference are their body size and nature. Spotless starling species are bigger in size compared to European starlings.

Their plumage is also different. European starling species have a dark-colored body with glittery feather tips, which make them very attractive. European starlings are also kept as pets because of their bonding nature.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these painted bunting facts and shrike facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in our free printable spotless starling coloring pages.