Iridescent beauty

This European Starling sat on this fence post long enough for me to take a handful of shots. Usually, I find they fly off straight away, so I was lucky this time. These birds need to be seen close in order to see the patterns and iridescent colours of their beautiful feathers. Taken on 14 April 2014, when I spent the day driving the backroads SE of Calgary with my daughter.

"First brought to North America by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century, European Starlings are now among the continent’s most numerous songbirds. They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. Though they’re sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, they’re still dazzling birds when you get a good look. Covered in white spots during winter, they turn dark and glossy in summer. For much of the year, they wheel through the sky and mob lawns in big, noisy flocks." From allaboutbirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/european_starling/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Starling

"The success of the European Starling in North America is nothing less than phenomenal. Although estimates vary, it is commonly believed that a total of about 100 individuals was released into Central Park, in New York City, in 1890 and 1891. The entire North American population, now numbering more than 200 million and distributed across most of the continent, is derived from these few birds. This is arguably the most successful avian introduction to this continent. Although the European Starling is most frequently associated with disturbed areas created by man, it has had a significant impact on our native avifauna. In particular, it offers intense competition for nesting cavities and has had a detrimental effect on many native cavity-nesting species. Because of the starling’s abundance and association with humans, many aspects of its natural history are known in detail, from studies both in its native range and in areas to which it was introduced. It has also served as a model for studying basic avian biology. Recent research has done much to illuminate the mechanics of flight and control of the endocrine system (e.g. see Nicholls et al. 1988; Dial." From birdsofalberta.

birdsofalberta.com/List/detail.php?id=307et al. 1991)

flic.kr/p/ncipuR