This is indisputably the best time of year for anyone who is fond of starlings. At this time of year we are hosts, not only to native British birds, but also to starlings from Northern Europe who swell the ranks in this country every winter as they fly south to escape their colder winters. 

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Starling populations have fallen dramatically in the UK in recent years.  While they have attracted attention overseas by the expansion of urban populations in cities such as Rome, the RSPB say that  UK starling populations have plummeted by 80% in the last 40 years. That is a huge and worrying decline and it is thought that it is due to the loss of traditional pastures and meadows.

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Starlings are members of the thrush family, and they are clever and gregarious birds and great mimics, but they can often be seen as pests at the bird table. Flocks tend to nest together  and roost in urban areas, open woodland, in reed beds and in coastal settlements. All the eggs  in the flock will hatch within days of each other and it is because of this explosion of young that you will see adult starlings frantically wolfing down all they can eat at the bird table, hassled as they all are by their ever growing brood and the enormous competition for food.

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A male builds an untidy nest in a hollow in a tree, a building or a nest box and line it with sweetly scented herbs. When it is ready he perches close by and sings his little heart out.  The louder and more complex his call, the more successful he will be in attracting a female . Having accepted his invitation the pair will mate and she will lay four or five glossy blue eggs in his nest  and there she will sit on the eggs for two weeks. When they hatch both parents feed the hatchlings on invertebrates and earthworms for a further 3 weeks. Starlings only pair up for one breeding season, finding a new mate each year but if they have been successful with their first brood they will raise another brood after  and may even lay a third clutch while they are together.

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Immature birds are a dull brown and not as streamlined as their parents and if spotted on their own can easily be mistaken for another species. Over the first summer those brown feathers  are gradually replaced by the glossy black iridescent plumage of the mature bird.  During the winter the beak of all the birds are brown, turning a bright yellow during the mating and breeding season.

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Starlings prefer to forage in open farmland , meadows and pastures and when doing so they are a pleasure to observe.  A flock of starlings will methodically work their way across a pasture or area of common land pecking and foraging in the short grass as they go. Every now and then those at the back of the group fly forward to take their turn at the front where they will get better pickings. There is no squabbling or arguments, just a methodical, well-behaved, almost military movement across the field. If disturbed the flock will rise as if as one and circle the area and then come to rest again when the coast is clear. This astounding ability to move almost as single entity is a great defence against their many avian predators as even the swiftest and most agile of hawks and falcons cannot match the synchronised  acrobatics of a flock of starlings.

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Of course it is for their synchronisations that this bird is most famous and why they do it is still largely a mystery. Although it is understood why these vast numbers flock and roost together at night –safety in numbers, warmth and exchanging information– we can still only guess why they collect together to perform their aerial acrobatics and how they do it is almost as puzzling.  Recent research has suggested that each starling within the murmuration communicates and copies the movements of 7 of its closest neighbours. If this is true of every bird within the group, the group can move as a whole,   as a synchronised  mass of bodies.  Starlings are particularly well suited to be able to observe their neighbours because, unlike most birds, starlings can swivel their eyes in their sockets, just like we can. Starlings have binocular vision which means they don’t have to turn their heads to be able to see around them as most birds do,  they can just turn their eyes instead. 

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• Winter is the time of year to go out and watch starling murmerations. For a site near you contact your local RSPB or your local Wildlife Trust for the latest information on murmerations in your area.