Mary Allen
Introduction: The European Starling in North America
The European starling, or Sturnus vulgaris, is a small, black bird with iridescent feathers that was introduced to North America in the late 1800s. Originally brought over by a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts who wanted to introduce all the birds mentioned in his plays to the United States, the starling quickly became one of the most successful invasive species in North America. Today, there are an estimated 200 million starlings in the United States alone.
History: How the European Starling Got Here
The first starlings were introduced to North America in 1890, when a wealthy New Yorker named Eugene Schieffelin released 60 of them into Central Park. Schieffelin was a member of the American Acclimatization Society, a group that believed that all plants and animals mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays should be brought to the United States. The society hoped to introduce every bird mentioned in Shakespeare’s works to Central Park, but only the starling was successful.
Within a few decades, the starling had spread across the United States, thanks in part to the fact that it is a highly adaptable bird that can thrive in a variety of habitats. Today, the starling is one of the most common birds in North America, and it is found in every state except Alaska and Hawaii.