BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Starling

STARLING
Sturnus vulgaris

Conservation listings

Europe: SPEC category 3 (declining)
UK: red (>50% population decline)

Long-term trend

England: rapid decline

Distribution maps

Maps and statistics from British and Irish
atlases can be viewed here.

Status summary

Breeding Starling abundance has fallen rapidly, particularly since the early 1980s, and especially in woodland (Robinson et al. 2002). The declines have been greatest in the south and west of Britain; recent BBS data suggest that populations are currently more stable in Scotland and may even be increasing in Northern Ireland. The species' UK conservation listing has recently been upgraded from amber to red. Strong improvements in breeding performance have occurred, suggesting that decreasing survival rates, particularly of young birds, may be responsible for the observed decline (Freeman et al. 2002). Loss of the species' preferred feeding habitat, permanent pasture, and general intensification of livestock rearing are likely to be having adverse effects on farmland populations (Crick et al. 2002). Widespread declines in northern Europe during the 1990s outweighed increases in the south, and the European status of this species is no longer considered 'secure'.

Table of population changes for Starling

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit	Alert	Comment
CBC/BBS England	35	1967-2002	380	-80	-86	-73	>50
	25	1977-2002	491	-76	-81	-68	>50
	10	1992-2002	1047	-46	-50	-41	>25
	5	1997-2002	1368	-21	-25	-17
BBS UK	9	1994-2003	1469	-28	-33	-23	(>25)
BBS England	9	1994-2003	1210	-36	-40	-31	(>25)
BBS Scotland	9	1994-2003	121	-4	-26	24
BBS Wales	9	1994-2003	78	-62	-72	-49	(>50)
BBS N.Ireland	9	1994-2003	54	76	16	167

Table of productivity information for Starling

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Clutch size 34 1968-2002 78 Linear increase 4.45 eggs 4.82 eggs 0.37 eggs

Brood size 34 1968-2002 209 None

Daily failure rate (eggs) 34 1968-2002 121 Linear decline 0.0116 nests/day 0.0031 nests/day -0.0085 nests/day

Daily failure rate (chicks) 34 1968-2002 146 Linear decline 0.0062 nests/day 0.0023 nests/day -0.0039 nests/day

Laying date 34 1968-2002 87 None

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2005) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2004. BTO Research Report No. 385. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 18 January, 2006