I’m sure everyone knows the story. A group of Shakespeare fans, wanting to bring to the United States every bird mentioned by the Bard, released about a hundred Starlings in Brooklyn in the early 1890s. Now there are an estimated 200 million of them in North America, making Starlings one of the most abundant birds around.
I can almost understand why the Shakespeareans wanted them here. They’re actually very attractive birds, dark with an iridescent green and purple sheen, contrasted by nearly white spots and tan markings in the wings. But they’re also noisy, aggressive, out compete many native song birds, and gather in great flocks that leave poop everywhere and are potentially dangerous. Don’t believe me? Fly a plane into a flock of a few thousand and see what happens. So send them back to Europe, I won’t miss them. Much.
This was just a quick post since it’s been close to two weeks since my last and the other, longer one I’m working on keeps getting tossed and re-written. Hopeful to have it published tomorrow.
Unless the weather is nice and then it might be Saturday.