Common starling

The common starling is a songbird of the starling family, widespread over a large area of Eurasia, as well as in South Africa, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In the south and west of Europe it leads a sedentary lifestyle, and in the northern and eastern parts of it it is a migratory one, migrating to the south in the winter months. Outwardly (in size, yellow beak and dark plumage) it slightly resembles blackbirds, but unlike them it walks on the ground, and does not jump. Sitting on top of roof or TV antenna, male ruffles plumage on throat and head, flutters with slightly open wings and sings for a long time, selflessly. The song is sonorous, includes whistles, squeaks and many imitations. Sometimes starlings arriving in spring from the south begin to sing with the voices of subtropical birds. In Kazakhstan and Central Asia, starlings imitate the sounds of a flock of sheep, including bleating, barking dogs, and clicking a whip. In one of his stories, the naturalist writer M. Zverev described a starling under his window, which faithfully depicted the process of printing on a typewriter.