Learning from starlings: urban ecosystems and weedy species

This podcast is about observing our familiar, invasive, and much-despised European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). More broadly, it’s about urban ecology and how the animals around us always have something to teach us—even those species that we may dislike, such as starlings. I observed the starlings nesting in the roof of my mom’s house in urban Missoula, Montana, USA and listened to the incredible imitations of other birds that the male incorporated into his songs—which may serve to make him more attractive to his mate. This episode (which took me over 17 hours to edit) includes more than a dozen of these imitations. Can you pick them out? Listen for Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata), American coot (Fulica americana), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Canada goose (Branta canadensis), red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), American robin (Turdus migratorius), blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata), tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus), black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia), and a gull (Larus sp.) that I wasn’t able to identify.  In addition to the European starling recordings and the red-winged blackbirds, all of them from my mom’s Missoula, Montana yard, this episode also features house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) calls I recorded in Helena, MT in November, 2017. Thanks so much to my monthly donors for supporting this story. Find out how you can support this podcast here: https://wildwithnature.com/donate/. Here’s the transcript of this story: https://wildwithnature.com/2024/05/01/starlings-urban-ecosystems/