Photography of Birds – Set # 162

Set # 162

European Starling

The common starling has about 12 subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to western Mongolia, and it has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and Fiji. This bird is resident in western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations migrate south and west in the winter within the breeding range and also further south to Iberia and North Africa. The common starling builds an untidy nest in a natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue eggs are laid.

Common Grackle

Adults Common Grackles have a long, dark bill, pale yellowish eyes, and a long tail; their feathers appear black with purple, green, or blue iridescence on the head, and primarily bronze sheen in the body plumage. Adult females, beyond being smaller, are usually less iridescent; their tails in particular are shorter, and unlike the males, do not keel (display a longitudinal ridge) in flight and are brown with no purple or blue gloss. Juveniles are brown with dark brown eyes.

Tags: birding, birds, Common Grackle, European Starling, Interesting information, PHOTO SETS, photography, photos of birds

12 thoughts on “Photography of Birds – Set # 162”

DailyMusings on October 25, 2020 at 7:42 am said:

Beautiful images of these wonderful birds. Grackles are so misunderstood I always feel.

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- H.J. for avian101 on October 25, 2020 at 3:12 pm said:
  
  They are both OK in my book! Thank you, DM. 🙂
  
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bayphotosbydonna on October 25, 2020 at 8:07 am said:

Many don’t know the stunning colors these two birds display, great shots showing them off, HJ! 🙂

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- H.J. for avian101 on October 25, 2020 at 3:14 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much, Donna. 🙂
  
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NJUrbanForest on October 25, 2020 at 2:13 pm said:

Beautiful pictures! Just saw a Starling in my Black Cherry Tree outside my window. It is the only non-native bird I’ve seen where I live so far.

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- H.J. for avian101 on October 25, 2020 at 3:15 pm said:
  
  Thank you very much, Mike. 🙂
  
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aussiebirder on October 25, 2020 at 9:02 pm said:

HJ, Your Grackle reminds me a lot of our Pied Currawong, which is a very intelligent opportunistic bird related to the Corvid family.

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- H.J. for avian101 on October 25, 2020 at 9:49 pm said:
  
  They have a resemblance but are not related. Thank you, Ashley. 🙂
  
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kewtiebird on October 27, 2020 at 5:16 am said:

I had never seen a starling until I saw a pair in a subway station in Berlin. They were beautiful. I had to look up what kind of bird I had seen. I love your bird posts. ☺️

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- H.J. for avian101 on October 27, 2020 at 6:38 am said:
  
  Thank you very much! 🙂
  
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Jyothi on October 28, 2020 at 9:26 pm said:

wooow… Superb clicks!

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- H.J. for avian101 on October 29, 2020 at 4:22 pm said:
  
  Thanks a lot, Jyothi. 🙂
  
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