Saturday 9 March 2013

Starling, I love you

Do you ever watch ‘Countdown’?  Tempting though it might seem for someone who works from home to watch a lot of daytime TV, I rarely even turn the box on before 7.30pm.  However, last week I heard that Chris Packham was on the popular words and numbers game show so, as a long-term fan of his, I thought I’d catch a couple of episodes.

I’m also a fan of Susie Dent.  I decided a while ago that, contrary to her rather demure and bookish exterior, she is a filthy-minded and possibly quite kinky little minx.  (I could be wrong of course, but she does have a penchant for talking about the more scandalous origins of words and with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. )   For this (speculative!!) reason alone I like her enormously. Add to that her obvious thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for language, along with her gentle modesty, and it makes for a pretty appealing combination as far as I’m concerned.   I am straight, by the way...  but, still.

I digress…. What was really lovely about Chris Packham’s guest spot was that Dictionary Corner focused on words with wildlife connections, in particular birds. Chris Packham, Susie Dent, words AND birds?  What a wonderfully heady mix!  And in the middle of the afternoon too!  The only thing missing was some rock’n’roll… but in a way that was there also, what with Chris’ well-known music credentials and punk past. 

Anyway, I watched a little of Wednesday’s edition and learned something which will stick in my mind, and that was about starlings. 

I know a lot of people aren’t keen on starlings (they always get labelled as ‘greedy’ – which seems a very anthropomorphic judgement of a wild creature’s natural survival instincts) but I have a real fondness for this characterful species.  They’re intelligent and resourceful birds, with perky and feisty personalities (or whatever the equivalent is for birds, I realise that sounds anthropomorphic too), but - and this is something I've known about for a while - their population in the UK has been in shocking decline for the last few decades.  In fact, it's down by 80% since 1979 and they are currently considered to be at serious risk.   Our garden is full of many different breeds of birds at most times of the year but I’ve seen significantly fewer starlings in the last six months than ever before.  Now when I see just two or three come in to feed I really welcome their noisy, skittish presence.

At this time of year, the starling’s plumage is quite different to its sleek, black-with-rainbow-tint feathers of Spring and Summer.  In Winter there is little iridescence: instead the plumage is dark with numerous white speckles.  Hundreds and hundreds of speckles… like millions of stars in a night sky, perhaps…? 

And so, as the lovely Susie Dent explained, one possibility for the origin of the name starling is that it was inspired by this appearance, derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for ‘star’ (‘stœr’ ? – not sure about the spelling!)    I thought this was such a picturesque and rather romantic way to name a bird (and so much more imaginative than ‘blackbird’…), I'll always remember it now. 

I've just looked out of the window to watch a pair of sturnus vulgaris and all I can see is the pure beauty of a starlit sky in their wings. 



20 comments:

  1. The flocks that darkened and patterned the winter skies are a thing of the past. I can n't remember seeing or hearing it for at least 5 or 6 years. Sad.

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    1. It is so sad, isn't it? Although (ever one to look on the bright side!) at least now there is lots of research being done to work out the causes and find ways to help them, so fingers crossed we'll see them again some day.
      There are some huge and spectacular murmurations around the country that I have yet to witness, but I must, although I know I'll be moved to tears (of awe!)

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    2. Murmurations...what a word!

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    3. It is, isn't it? (she murmured)...

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  2. When I was a lad I took to feeding the birds around our back garden and the place used to be full of starlings, now I cannot recall the last time I saw one. What is the cause of this tragedy? By the way, my better-half once sat next to Chris Packham and an owl on a train journey. I think he still had the punk hair then (Chris, not the owl).

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    1. I love that about Chris and the owl on a train - seems so abstract somehow!
      Re. the cause - various theories being considered (changes in soil conditions where they feed, loss of habitat, over-efficient farming methods)but as far as I know no definite conclusions. Lots of investigations being done though. In the meantime, I'll just keep my feeders topped up - every little helps!

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  3. I love it when you write about the birds in your garden and invariably learn something new from your observations. In this case I had to acknowledge my own petty prejudice against the starling, which is clearly irrational. I will view these visitors from a totally fresh perspective next time I see them.

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    1. Thanks! I'm so glad too if I've given them a little bit of positive PR. I was watching some today - actually quite a large group for a change, about 8 or 9 (prob. due the return of the snow!) and it was delightful to watch the way they squabble with each other but then always stick together when they fly off, like affectionate bickering between faithful friends. The sounds they make are fascinating too as they are natural mimics, many's been the time I thought the phone was ringing only to realise it's a starling :-)

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  4. Interesting, maybe they could call Owls Moonbirds, from now on I will....saw Suzie on Celebrity Chase. She has 10 times more natural s** appeal that the hideous Carol V. The brain dead man's crumpet.

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    1. Ha ha! I hope Carol V doesn't read this... (as if!)

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  5. I wonder what the next round of dreams will bring. Ha

    I reckon there are Starlings around here but, I don't see a whole lot of them...especially not with the speckles like that.

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    1. Well at least I didn't mention the B word this time!

      With all those 'gators and cottonmouths round your way those starlings are probably keeping a very low profile...

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    2. - and fish with human teeth...

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  6. The starling population down here is holding on valiantly, though it is depleted...we still have the daily visual marvel of the mass twilight flocking along the coast, to the skeleton of the old West Pier where they've congregated for decades now. I do what I can to keep their sharp little peckers up, with the bird feeder in my little back yard. While I'm not fond of the dopey fat pigeons who peck around below it, scavenging for fallen seeds, the bossy starlings and plucky sparrows (yes it's so easy to anthropomorphise, isn't it) keep me happy.

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    1. Wait just a minute.

      You do what you can to do what now?

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    2. Ah. 'Pecker' means something else where you are, doesn't it?

      Oopsie.

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    3. Well. We have a lot of parents over here that are always threatening to be someone's fanny so...

      Haha

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    4. This must be that "two nations divided by a common language" thing - it's all about fannies and peckers.

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    5. Ha.

      Should have been beat someone's fanny.

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  7. I'm so glad to hear you still have that amazing daily routine down there - a while since I've been to Brighton but it was always something I looked forward to witnessing.
    Just think of those dopey fat pigeons as nature's Hoovers, clearing up the mess! I'm a softie for them too, especially after having some nest in our hedge once and being able to watch the progress of their ugly-as-sin babies. Mum and Dad were so very attentive and with the softest, sweetest cooing that they almost lulled me off to s gentle sleep too. (And as for the amount of time they spend on the tenderest of foreplay... well..)

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