Category Archives: Starling
Common Starlings (introduced into Australia)
A couple of weeks ago I was passing through Bathurst, which is about three hours’ drive west of Sydney. On top of a very large advertising board were some colourful birds. The markings on their feathers reminded me of Little Wattlebirds, but the colours and demeanour of the birds were quite different:
Here’s another of the birds:
After some research, I’ve concluded that these are Common Starlings. These birds were introduced into Australia in the second half of the 19th century. They’re now widespread across the south eastern areas. They don’t go too far north of Brisbane, because the climate up there doesn’t suit them. And Western Australia has managed largely to keep these birds out.
Common name: Common Starling
Scientific name: Sturnus vulgaris
Length: 20-21 cm
Date spotted: 13 April 2024 (autumn)
Location: Maffu Parking Lot, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia: 33°23’43.3″S 149°35’40.8″E
White-capped Red-winged Starling on Table Mountain
A couple of weeks ago, while on a short visit to South Africa, I saw this bird on Table Mountain:
I didn’t know what type of bird it was, but it looked to have a messy white cap.
Then the bird started poking its beak into the nearby flowers:
See how the flower touches the top of the bird’s head? The flower is dumping pollen grains — a handy way to get its genes transferred to the next plant visited by the bird!
The bird is a Red-winged Starling. The male is black with red flares on its wings. It typically doesn’t have a white patch on top of its head! The female’s colouring is softer, with a grey head and blue hues in the rest of the plumage. She also has orange-red wing flares:
The two birds spent some time playing together on the edge of the mountain. In the next photo, the male shows the red wing flares nicely as it comes in to land:
Being on top of Table Mountain is a magical experience. It really is flat up there, like a table top. The morning that we were up there was misty and quiet:
If you’d like to see more about being there, take a look at my bookmark’s blog: Atop Table Mountain in the clouds.
A few birds from my recent trip to Cairns
This post rounds off my series of bird photos from a recent trip to Far North Queensland. The birds in this post were in Cairns, a lovely city on the east coast of Australia near the Great Barrier Reef.
A Great Egret stalked the mudflats of the bay. At low tide, this area is a vast muddy plain. The tide was in when I took this photo:
In this close up, the egret is looking rather alarmed. I think I just caught it at an inopportune moment. Perhaps a yawn, or a fish that went down the wrong way:
The next picture shows the bay when the tide is out. In the distance is a Black-necked Stork a first sighting for me:
Here’s a close-up of the same Black-necked Stork. These are large birds, at 1.5 metres tall with a wingspan of over 2 metres. They’re the only species of stork found in Australia:
Figbirds called from the trees lining the Cairns promenade. The males in this area have a bright yellow front, which is different from the more subdued colouring of the figbirds down near Sydney. Here’s a male Figbird:
Here’s a female Figbird, with her gentle olive-brown colouring and streaked front:
There were large numbers of Metallic Starlings, congregating in trees and shimmering in the sun. This is another first sighting for me! Unlike the Common Starling, which was introduced to Australia, these Metallic Starlings are indigenous to North East Queensland:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief glimpse into the birds of Far North Queensland. I hope to travel up there again sometime soon. It’s a unique area of the world.
Sydney Birder 