Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
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CC-BY Kostis Tzortzakakis
Looks like
The starling is a relatively small-bodied bird (ca. 20cm) with a short tail. Its colour varies by season: in spring it is black with a yellow beak (careful, don't confuse it with the blackbird!), while in winter it is a dark shiny green with white spots. It has a thin beak with which it feeds on seeds on fields.
Where and when to spot it
In our area it starts to show up in autumn and winter (so we always see it with its winter colours), often in very large flocks flying over fields and roosting in trees.
Interesting facts
If the weather further north is bad starlings can be observed to form large flocks (murmurations) of several thousand individuals arriving in the more southerly regions. Therefore, in some areas of Greece the starlings are called "winterlings". These murmurations can form impressive shapes.
