Bird Sturnus vulgaris common in N Eurasia and
naturalized in North America from the late
19th century. The black, speckled plumage is
glossed with green and purple. Its own call
is a bright whistle, but it is a mimic of the
songs of other birds. It is about 20 cm/8 in
long. Strikingly gregarious in feeding,
flight, and roosting, it often becomes a pest
in large cities, where it becomes attached to
certain buildings as `dormitories', returning
each night from omnivorous foraging in the
countryside. If disturbed, starlings have
been known to lay eggs in the nests of other
birds before starting a new nest with their
mate elsewhere. More than 100 species of
starling, family Sturnidae, are found in the
Old World.