See birds dancing in the Southern Utah sky? It could be these ‘invasive aliens’

Written by Alysha Lundgren
January 22, 2024

ST. GEORGE — Beginning in New York City’s Central Park, this enterprising bird took its mesmerizing sky display across the U.S., including Southern Utah.

Large numbers of European Starlings gather as the sun sets, Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 28, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

In 1890, New Yorker Eugene Schieffelin released 100 European starlings in Central Park, but the reason is still unclear, according to the Folger Shakespeare Library. A common story recalls a man on a mission to bring the birds of William Shakespeare’s writing to the United States. Another suggests he just wanted to rid his garden of a troublesome insect infestation — a tale supported by his obituary.

“He was the first to import English sparrows into this country — his purpose being to exterminate the caterpillars which infested the trees in Madison Square where the Schieffelin home was,” the obituary reads. “He imported and liberated many other species of birds, among them the starling.”

Regardless of the reason, starlings flourished, growing to an estimated 250 million globally. They can be found in Southern Utah year-round, said Russell Norvell, who serves as the avian conservation program coordinator with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The birds are considered a nuisance species in Utah, and because they are nonnative, they can be killed without a permit or hunting license.

The birds frequent agricultural fields and wet meadow areas, Norvell said.

European starlings take flight near a field in Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 18, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

“They’re everywhere around here,” added DWR wildlife biologist Danielle Finlayson. “They do really well in and next to human civilization. Anywhere in (Cedar City), if you’re driving along and you see little dark birds on power lines, they’re most likely starlings.”

There is concern that starlings may outcompete local species for shelter, said Dr. Lauryn Benedict, professor and Associate Director of the University of Northern Colorado’s Department of Biological Sciences.

“They can be a problem for our native birds because they will move into cavities built by woodpeckers that other species like bluebirds and chickadees might want to inhabit, and the starlings are then outcompeting those (species). … Woodpeckers spend a lot of time drilling that one cavity, and only one other pair of birds can use it each year.”

As generalists, this adaptive species has been globally successful and is classified as an “invasive alien” in North America, Natalie Hofmeister wrote in an article published on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds’ website.

A European starling perches on barbed wire, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News

Despite this nonnative species’ bad reputation, the lab reports their populations have decreased by over 1% per year, declining by a cumulative 50% between 1966 and 2019. And Hofmeister wrote that their effect on native species may be overblown.

“Other research shows that the starling’s negative impacts on native species may not be as dramatic as we thought,” she wrote. “Tree Swallows seem to have adjusted their nesting behavior in response to starlings.

“According to Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count data, the presence of starlings does not actually explain native bird declines. Long ago, we designated the starling an invasive alien that threatened native birds, but as ecosystems change, so does the starling’s impact on those ecosystems.”

The same appears to be true in Utah. While starlings compete with local cavity nesters, they “aren’t making significant impacts to any native wildlife species currently,” Norvell said.

However, because starlings have been present in North America for longer than biologists have been conducting widespread bird surveys, there is a chance they’ve impacted native species in ways that weren’t tracked, Finlayson said. Still, they could benefit aerial predators like hawks and peregrine falcons by providing an additional food source.

Starling murmurations

European starlings take flight in a field in Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 18, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Starlings are often seen in flocks. They sometimes move in a large, coordinated mass through the sky, creating a murmuration — named for the low, continuous “murmur” they create with the sound of their calls and flapping wings.

“The ‘cloud’ kind of looks like it’s dancing. … They are reasonably common, but they’re also sort of ephemeral,” Benedict said. “And so it’s one of those things that probably happens all the time, but we don’t necessarily see it all the time.”

“It’s one of those wonderful, magical things in nature,” Benedict added. “When you see it, I don’t know — they’re just so joyful and special.”

See an example of a flock murmuration in St. George near the Bloomington Country Club in the video below, courtesy of Joyce Kuzmanic.

In Southern Utah, murmurations are typically formed by starlings, but occasionally other species, like red-winged blackbirds, will join them, Norvell said.

European starlings perch on power lines, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 29, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

During the summer breeding season, Southern Utahns are more likely to see them alone or in pairs, Benedict said. In the winter, they’re more likely to create murmurations, particularly at dusk. They could gather to stay warm as they prepare to roost at night or to confuse predators and seek safety in numbers.

Additionally, starlings are “super smart, super pretty birds,” and their feathers have a green and purple sheen, Benedict said.

“Usually you see them from far enough away that they just look like a little blackbird,” Finlayson said. “But if you get close to them, they’re actually kind of multicolored, speckled — you get them in the sun, and they’re iridescent.”

Some people keep starlings as pets, as they’re mimics and can be taught words and songs, Finlayson added.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had a pet starling named Vogelstar, who may have mimicked the pianist’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major. Mozart reportedly held a funeral for the bird when it died at 3 years old, reciting a poem at its graveside, according to this 1990 article published in American Scientist.

“A little fool lies here, whom I held dear,” a part of Mozart’s translated poem reads. “A starling in the prime of his brief time.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alysha Lundgren joined the St. George News team in 2022. She began her career as a freelancer, writing resource articles for families of children with disabilities. She's also covered topics such as astronomy, recreation and nature. Originally from Nevada, Alysha fell in love with Utah quickly after moving to Cedar City. In her free time, she enjoys wandering and photographing Utah's gorgeous landscapes or hunkering down in a blanket to play video games or read a good book.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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