December 12, 2010
Thousands of Birds Outside!
Today, it was a very important day for the starlings. It's the date for migration!
If you do not know what a starling is... it's this bird:
 |
| (Photo from :http://www.lloydspitalnikphotos.com/d/1309-4/european_starling_MG_0745.jpg) |
They are also known by the name "
Sturnis vulgaris". They are hardy little black birds that one can find almost anywhere. But the starlings that are migrating look much different than that. First, they are much larger - at least 3 inches (7.6 cm) larger than usual - larger than even some American Robins. Second, they are all black and big and round, not thin and spotted and green. It was hard to identify them because they looked so different, but I could tell they were starlings because of their songs.
Many starlings were gathering under this tree. If you look closely you can see their little black bodies. There were at least one hundred little starlings under the tree.
If you look closely, you can see a starling hiding under the eaves of my neighbour's house. He fought with another starling to sit there, and won.
Two more starlings in the tree, you can see them a bit closer now.
