B11

Starlings are small to medium-sized birds native to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Their feathers are generally dark and shiny and they usually nest in holes, laying blue or white eggs.

 SHINE

B12

Starlings are highly sociable animals, flying in flocks of up to one million birds. Naturally, flocks of this size are a very eye-catching sight in the sky.

 NATURAL

B13

The shape of a starling flock is usually circular, but it constantly expands, contracts and changes form.

 CIRCLE

B14

Interestingly, flocks move without guidance from any sort of ‘leader’ bird.

 GUIDE

B15

Single males build nests to attract single females. They decorate their nests with flowers and green vegetation and sing during the construction of them. Starlings can produce a wide range of sounds – from beautiful songs to mechanical-sounding chirps.

CONSTRUCT

B16

Starlings are also very good mimics. In captivity, they can learn to reproduce many types of speech and sounds.

 CAPTIVE