starling
Sturnus vulgaris

Familiar swaggering, quarrelsome garden bird

Habitat: equally at home in garden, park, woodland and farmland

Widespread and common resident, joined in winter by visitors from Scandinavia

Dark, glossy bird with yellow bill; 20–22cm

Often feed in flocks, probing the ground for their favourite food, leatherjackets; swaggering walk

Feed mainly on invertebrates foraged from grassland; also fruit, bread and household scraps

Untidy nest of grass and straw in a hole in a tree, building or cliff, or in a nest box

Usually 2 broods April to May; 5–7 pale blue eggs

Outside the breeding season, gather just before dusk in large numbers to roost at favourite sites