63-620: Nearly 30, see text. Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae , common name of Sturnid. The Sturnidae are named for the genus Sturnus , which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus . The family contains 128 species which are divided into 36 genera. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas , and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage . Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and
126-511: A tui -sized bird) and several bones of at least one species of saddleback -sized bird have recently been described. These date from the Early to Middle Miocene ( Awamoan to Lillburnian , 19–16 mya). In Europe, perching birds are not too uncommon in the fossil record from the Oligocene onward, belonging to several lineages: That suboscines expanded much beyond their region of origin
189-470: A clearer picture of passerine origins and evolution that reconciles molecular affinities, the constraints of morphology, and the specifics of the fossil record. The first passerines are now thought to have evolved in the Southern Hemisphere in the late Paleocene or early Eocene , around 50 million years ago. The initial diversification of passerines coincides with the separation of
252-483: A distinct super-family Certhioidea . This list is in taxonomic order, placing related families next to one another. The families listed are those recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). The order and the division into infraorders, parvorders, and superfamilies follows the phylogenetic analysis published by Carl Oliveros and colleagues in 2019. The relationships between
315-469: A dozen and other species around five or six. The family Viduidae do not build their own nests, instead, they lay eggs in other birds' nests. The Passeriformes contain several groups of brood parasites such as the viduas , cuckoo-finches , and the cowbirds . The evolutionary history of the passerine families and the relationships among them remained rather mysterious until the late 20th century. In many cases, passerine families were grouped together on
378-737: A more basal member of the Sturnidae-Mimidae group, derived from an early expansion into Africa. Usually, the starlings are considered a family, as is done here. Sibley & Monroe included the mimids in the family and demoted the starlings to tribe rank, as Sturnini . This treatment was used by Zuccon et al. However, the grouping of Sibley & Monroe is overly coarse due to methodological drawbacks of their DNA-DNA hybridization technique and most of their proposed revisions of taxonomic rank have not been accepted (see for example Ciconiiformes ). The all-inclusive Sturnidae grouping conveys little information about biogeography , and obscures
441-428: A rather similar but more solitary lifestyle. They are morphologically quite similar too—a partly albinistic specimen of a mimid, mislabelled as to suggest an Old World origin, was for many decades believed to represent an extinct starling (see Rodrigues starling for details). The oxpeckers are sometimes placed here as a subfamily , but the weight of evidence has shifted towards granting them full family status as
504-524: Is visible at local midnight , and at least once the centre is not visible at local noon . Directly on the Arctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at the June and December solstices , respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages , and also because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun is visible, on the night of
567-460: Is any bird of the order Passeriformes ( / ˈ p æ s ə r ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / ; from Latin passer 'sparrow' and formis '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds , passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes
630-482: Is comprised by its very long tail. Less sexual dimorphism is seen in plumage , but with only 25 species showing such differences between the two sexes. The plumage of the starling is often brightly coloured due to iridescence ; this colour is derived from the structure of the feathers, not from any pigment. Some species of Asian starling have crests or erectile feathers on the crest. Other ornamentation includes elongated tail feathers and brightly coloured bare areas on
693-482: Is currently divided into three suborders: Acanthisitti (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni , (suboscines) and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). The Passeri is now subdivided into two major groups recognized now as Corvides and Passerida respectively containing the large superfamilies Corvoidea and Meliphagoidea , as well as minor lineages, and the superfamilies Sylvioidea , Muscicapoidea , and Passeroidea but this arrangement has been found to be oversimplified. Since
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#1732781065128756-906: Is more scant before the Pleistocene, from which several still-existing families are documented. Apart from the indeterminable MACN -SC-1411 (Pinturas Early/Middle Miocene of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina), an extinct lineage of perching birds has been described from the Late Miocene of California, United States: the Palaeoscinidae with the single genus Palaeoscinis . "Palaeostruthus" eurius (Pliocene of Florida) probably belongs to an extant family, most likely passeroidean . Acanthisitti – New Zealand wrens (1 family containing 7 species, only 2 extant) Tyranni – suboscines (16 families containing 1,356 species) Passeri – oscines (125 families containing 5,158 species) The Passeriformes
819-1061: Is naturally absent from the Americas and from large parts of Australia, but it is present over the majority of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The genus Aplonis has also spread widely across the islands of the Pacific, reaching Polynesia , Melanesia , and Micronesia (in addition one species in the genus Mino has reached the Solomon Islands ). Also, a species of this genus is the only starling found in northern Australia. Asian species are most common in evergreen forests; 39 species found in Asia are predominantly forest birds as opposed to 24 found in more open or human modified environments. In contrast to this, African species are more likely to be found in open woodlands and savannah; 33 species are open-area specialists compared to 13 true forest species. The high diversity of species found in Asia and Africa
882-442: Is not entirely final and eventually, they may remain a separate family. Genus sequence follows traditional treatments. This is apparently not entirely correct, with Scissirostrum closer to Aplonis than to Gracula , for example, and Acridotheres among the most advanced genera. Too few taxa have yet been studied as regards their relationships, however, thus a change in the sequence has to wait for further studies. As of 2023,
945-633: Is not matched by Europe, which has one widespread (and very common) species and two more restricted species. The European starling is both highly widespread and extremely eclectic in its habitat, occupying most types of open habitat. Like many other starling species, it has also adapted readily to human-modified habitat, including farmland, orchards, plantations, and urban areas. Some species of starlings are migratory , either entirely, like Shelley's starling , which breeds in Ethiopia and Somaliland and migrates to Kenya , Tanzania , and Somalia , or like
1008-700: Is one of the two polar circles , and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle . The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the winter solstice (which is the shortest day of the year) in the Northern Hemisphere , the Sun will not rise all day, and on the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice (which
1071-537: Is proven by several fossils from Germany such as a presumed broadbill ( Eurylaimidae ) humerus fragment from the Early Miocene (roughly 20 mya) of Wintershof , Germany, the Late Oligocene carpometacarpus from France listed above, and Wieslochia , among others. Extant Passeri super-families were quite distinct by that time and are known since about 12–13 mya when modern genera were present in
1134-617: Is the Nias hill myna ( Gracula robusta ). This species can measure up to 36 cm (14 in), and in domestication they can weigh up to 400 g (14 oz). Rivaling the prior species in bulk if not dimensions, the mynas of the genus Mino are also large, especially the yellow-faced ( M. dumontii ) and long-tailed mynas ( M. kreffti ). The longest species in the family is the white-necked myna ( Streptocitta albicollis ), which can measure up to 50 cm ( 19 + 1 ⁄ 2 in), although around 60% in this magpie -like species
1197-442: Is the long-tailed widowbird . The chicks of passerines are altricial : blind, featherless, and helpless when hatched from their eggs. Hence, the chicks require extensive parental care. Most passerines lay colored eggs, in contrast with nonpasserines, most of whose eggs are white except in some ground-nesting groups such as Charadriiformes and nightjars , where camouflage is necessary, and in some parasitic cuckoos , which match
1260-459: Is the short-tailed pygmy tyrant , at 6.5 cm (2.6 in) and 4.2 g (0.15 oz). The foot of a passerine has three toes directed forward and one toe directed backward, called anisodactyl arrangement. The hind toe ( hallux ) is long and joins the leg at approximately the same level as the front toes. This arrangement enables passerine birds to easily perch upright on branches. The toes have no webbing or joining, but in some cotingas ,
1323-545: Is the largest order of birds and among the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates , representing 60% of birds. Passerines are divided into three suborders : Acanthisitti (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni (composed mostly of South American suboscines), and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). Passerines originated in the Southern Hemisphere around 60 million years ago. Most passerines are insectivorous or omnivorous , and eat both insects and fruit or seeds. The terms "passerine" and "Passeriformes" are derived from
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#17327810651281386-510: Is the longest day of the year), the Sun will not set. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and the further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk , three degrees above the Arctic Circle, the Sun does not rise above the horizon for 40 successive days in midwinter. The position of
1449-619: The American Acclimatization Society , decided all birds mentioned by William Shakespeare should be in North America, leading to the introduction of the starling to the U.S.; however, this claim is more fiction than fact. While Schieffelin and other members of the society did release starlings in Central Park in 1890, the birds had already been in the U.S. since at least the mid-1870s, and Schieffelin
1512-608: The Arctic Ocean , the Scandinavian Peninsula , North Asia , Northern America , and Greenland. The land within the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States ( Alaska ), Canada ( Yukon , Northwest Territories , and Nunavut ), Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland (where it passes through the small offshore island of Grímsey ). The climate north of
1575-657: The Corvida and numerous minor lineages make up songbird diversity today. Extensive biogeographical mixing happens, with northern forms returning to the south, southern forms moving north, and so on. Perching bird osteology , especially of the limb bones, is rather diagnostic. However, the early fossil record is poor because passerines are relatively small, and their delicate bones do not preserve well. Queensland Museum specimens F20688 ( carpometacarpus ) and F24685 ( tibiotarsus ) from Murgon, Queensland , are fossil bone fragments initially assigned to Passeriformes . However,
1638-506: The Greek word ἀρκτικός ( arktikos : "near the Bear , northern") and that from the word ἄρκτος ( arktos : " bear "). The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the centre of the Sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Arctic Circle the centre of the Sun
1701-636: The Old World warblers and Old World babblers have turned out to be paraphyletic and are being rearranged. Several taxa turned out to represent highly distinct lineages, so new families had to be established, some of theirs – like the stitchbird of New Zealand and the Eurasian bearded reedling – monotypic with only one living species. In the Passeri alone, a number of minor lineages will eventually be recognized as distinct superfamilies. For example,
1764-631: The crows , do not sound musical to human beings. Some, such as the lyrebird , are accomplished mimics. The New Zealand wrens are tiny birds restricted to New Zealand , at least in modern times; they were long placed in Passeri. Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders. The heaviest and altogether largest passerines are the thick-billed raven and the larger races of common raven , each exceeding 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and 70 cm (28 in). The superb lyrebird and some birds-of-paradise , due to very long tails or tail coverts, are longer overall. The smallest passerine
1827-445: The kinglets constitute a single genus with less than 10 species today but seem to have been among the first perching bird lineages to diverge as the group spread across Eurasia. No particularly close relatives of theirs have been found among comprehensive studies of the living Passeri, though they might be fairly close to some little-studied tropical Asian groups. Nuthatches , wrens , and their closest relatives are currently grouped in
1890-456: The scientific name of the house sparrow , Passer domesticus , and ultimately from the Latin term passer , which refers to sparrows and similar small birds. The order is divided into three suborders, Tyranni (suboscines), Passeri (oscines or songbirds), and the basal Acanthisitti . Oscines have the best control of their syrinx muscles among birds, producing a wide range of songs and other vocalizations, though some of them, such as
1953-402: The superb lyrebird has 16, and several spinetails in the family Furnariidae have 10, 8, or even 6, as is the case of Des Murs's wiretail . Species adapted to tree trunk climbing such as treecreepers and woodcreeper have stiff tail feathers that are used as props during climbing. Extremely long tails used as sexual ornaments are shown by species in different families. A well-known example
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2016-422: The white-shouldered starling , which is migratory in part of its range, but is resident in others. The European starling was purposely introduced to North America in the 1870s through the 1890s by multiple acclimatisation societies , organizations dedicated to introducing European flora and fauna into North America for cultural and economic reasons. A persistent story alleges that Eugene Schieffelin , chairman of
2079-526: The Arctic Circle is generally cold, but the coastal areas of Norway have a generally mild climate as a result of the Gulf Stream , which makes the ports of northern Norway and northwest Russia ice-free all year long. In the interior, summers can be quite warm, while winters are extremely cold. For example, summer temperatures in Norilsk , Russia will sometimes reach as high as 30 °C (86 °F), while
2142-589: The Arctic Circle is not fixed and currently runs 66°33′50.2″ north of the Equator . Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt , which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, owing to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon . Consequently, the Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. The word arctic comes from
2205-604: The Arctic Circle with about 5,000 inhabitants. The largest such community in Canada is Inuvik in the Northwest Territories , with 3,137 inhabitants. Download coordinates as: The Arctic Circle is roughly 16,000 km (9,900 mi) in circumference. The area north of the Circle is about 20,000,000 km (7,700,000 sq mi) and covers roughly 4% of Earth's surface. The Arctic Circle passes through
2268-466: The Arctic Circle, lying 6 km (4 mi) south of the line. Salekhard (51,186) in Russia is the only city in the world located directly on the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut ( Greenland ), has approximately 5,600 inhabitants. In the United States, Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow) is the largest settlement north of
2331-404: The Pacific, the common myna is indeed common. Starlings have strong feet, their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious . Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects and fruit . Several species live around human habitation and are effectively omnivores . Many species search for prey such as grubs by "open-bill probing", that is, forcefully opening
2394-509: The Palearctic, usually have metallic coloration, and in a number of species also bright carotinoid plumage colors on the underside. Inside this latter group, there is a clade consisting of species which, again, are usually not too brightly colored, and which consists of the "typical" myna- Sturnus assemblage. The Philippine creepers , a single genus of three species of treecreeper -like birds, appear to be highly apomorphic members of
2457-545: The basis of morphological similarities that, it is now believed, are the result of convergent evolution , not a close genetic relationship. For example, the wrens of the Americas and Eurasia , those of Australia , and those of New Zealand look superficially similar and behave in similar ways, yet belong to three far-flung branches of the passerine family tree; they are as unrelated as it is possible to be while remaining Passeriformes. Advances in molecular biology and improved paleobiogeographical data gradually are revealing
2520-617: The bill after inserting it into a crevice, thus expanding the hole and exposing the prey; this behaviour is referred to by the German verb zirkeln (pronounced [ˈtsɪʁkl̩n] ). Plumage of many species is typically dark with a metallic sheen. Most species nest in holes and lay blue or white eggs . Starlings have diverse and complex vocalizations and have been known to embed sounds from their surroundings into their own calls, including car alarms and human speech patterns. The birds can recognize particular individuals by their calls and are
2583-512: The corvoidean and basal songbirds. The modern diversity of Passerida genera is known mostly from the Late Miocene onward and into the Pliocene (about 10–2 mya). Pleistocene and early Holocene lagerstätten (<1.8 mya) yield numerous extant species, and many yield almost nothing but extant species or their chronospecies and paleosubspecies. In the Americas , the fossil record
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2646-534: The entire "sturnoid" group, with the oxpeckers representing an ancient relict and the mimids arriving in South America. This is contradicted by the North American distribution of the most basal Mimidae. As the fossil record is limited to quite Recent forms, the proposed Early Miocene (about 25–20 Mya ) divergence dates for the "sturnoids" lineages must be considered extremely tentative. Given
2709-563: The evolutionary distinctness of the three lineages. Establishing a valid name for the clade consisting of Sibley/Monroe's "pan-Sturnidae" would nonetheless be desirable to contrast them with the other major lineages of Muscicapoidea. Starlings probably originated in the general area of East Asia , perhaps towards the southwestern Pacific, as inferred by the number of plesiomorphic lineages to occur there. Expansion into Africa appears to have occurred later, as most derived forms are found there. An alternative scenario would be African origin for
2772-539: The face. These colours can be derived from pigments, or as in the Bali myna , structural colour, caused by light scattering off parallel collagen fibers. The irises of many species are red and yellow, although those of younger birds are much darker. Starlings inhabit a wide range of habitats from the Arctic Circle to the Equator . The only habitats they do not typically occupy are very dry sandy deserts . The family
2835-404: The families in the suborder Tyranni (suboscines) were all well determined but some of the nodes in Passeri (oscines or songbirds) were unclear owing to the rapid splitting of the lineages. Infraorder Eurylaimides : Old World suboscines Infraorder Tyrannides : New World suboscines Parvorder Furnariida Parvorder Tyrannida Relationships between living Passeriformes families based on
2898-456: The islands of the tropical Pacific . Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas, as well as North America, Hawaii , and New Zealand , where they generally compete for habitats with native birds and are considered to be invasive species . The starling species familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the common starling , and throughout much of Asia and
2961-669: The material is too fragmentary and their affinities have been questioned. Several more recent fossils from the Oligocene of Europe, such as Wieslochia , Jamna , Resoviaornis , and Crosnoornis , are more complete and definitely represent early passeriforms, and have been found to belong to a variety of modern and extinct lineages. From the Bathans Formation at the Manuherikia River in Otago , New Zealand, MNZ S42815 (a distal right tarsometatarsus of
3024-536: The mid-2000s, studies have investigated the phylogeny of the Passeriformes and found that many families from Australasia traditionally included in the Corvoidea actually represent more basal lineages within oscines. Likewise, the traditional three-superfamily arrangement within the Passeri has turned out to be far more complex and will require changes in classification. Major " wastebin " families such as
3087-517: The more initial radiation of the Sturnidae. While this may seem odd at first glance, their placement has always been contentious. In addition, biogeography virtually rules out a close relationship of Philippine creepers and treecreepers, as neither the latter nor their close relatives seem to have ever reached Wallacea , let alone the Philippines . Nonetheless, their inclusion in the Sturnidae
3150-442: The nonbreeding season, some roosts can number in the thousands of birds. Starlings imitate a variety of avian species and have a repertoire of about 15–20 distinct imitations. They also imitate a few sounds other than those of wild birds. The calls of abundant species or calls that are simple in frequency structure and show little amplitude modulation are preferentially imitated. Dialects of mimicked sounds can be local. The diets of
3213-411: The northern summer solstice , at a latitude of about 50 minutes of arc (′) (90 km (56 mi)) south of the Arctic Circle. Similarly, on the day of the northern winter solstice , part of the Sun may be seen up to about 50′ north of the Arctic Circle. That is true at sea level ; those limits increase with elevation above sea level , although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of
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#17327810651283276-548: The overall evidence for the origin of most Passeri families in the first half of the Miocene , it appears to be not too far off the mark, however. As of 2007, recent studies identified two major clades of this family, corresponding to the generally drab, often striped, largish "atypical mynas " and other mainly Asian-Pacific lineages, and the often smaller, sometimes highly apomorphic taxa which are most common in Africa and
3339-447: The passerine host's egg. The vinous-throated parrotbill has two egg colors, white and blue, to deter the brood parasitic common cuckoo . Clutches vary considerably in size: some larger passerines of Australia such as lyrebirds and scrub-robins lay only a single egg, most smaller passerines in warmer climates lay between two and five, while in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, hole-nesting species like tits can lay up to
3402-901: The phylogenetic analysis of Oliveros et al (2019). Some terminals have been renamed to reflect families recognised by the IOC but not in that study. The IOC families Alcippeidae and Teretistridae were not sampled in this study. Acanthisittidae (New Zealand wrens) Eurylaimidae (eurylaimid broadbills) Philepittidae (asites) Calyptomenidae (African and green broadbills) Pittidae (pittas) Sapayoidae (sapayoa) Melanopareiidae (crescent chests) Conopophagidae (gnateaters) Thamnophilidae (antbirds) Grallariidae (antpittas) Rhinocryptidae (tapaculos) Formicariidae (antthrushes) Scleruridae (leaftossers) Dendrocolaptidae (woodcreepers) Furnariidae (ovenbirds) Pipridae (manakins) Cotingidae (cotingas) Tityridae (tityras, becards) Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle
3465-1307: The review by Lovette & Rubenstein (2008) is the most recent work on the phylogeny of the group. This taxonomy is also based on the order of the IOC . Common myna ( A. tristis ) (sometimes included in Sturnus or Sturnia ) Daurian starling ( A. sturninus ) Golden-crested myna ( A. coronatus ) 3 recently extinct Metallic starling ( A. metallica ) Sulawesi myna ( B. celebensis ) Fiery-browed myna ( E. erythrophris ) Apo myna ( G. miranda ) Southern hill myna ( G. indica ) Indian pied myna ( G. contra ) Bali myna ( L. rothschildi ) Yellow-faced myna ( M. dumontii ) Coleto ( S. calvus ) Grosbeak starling ( S. dubium ) White-cheeked starling ( S. cineraceus ) White-necked myna ( S. albicollis ) (sometimes included in Sturnus ) Brahminy starling ( S. pagodarum ) White-faced starling ( S. albofrontatus ) Hoopoe starling († F. varius ) Rodrigues starling († N. rodericanus ) Abbott's starling ( A. femoralis ) Violet-backed starling ( C. leucogaster ) Wattled starling ( C. cinerea ) Passerine and see text A passerine ( / ˈ p æ s ə r aɪ n / )
3528-509: The second and third toes are united at their basal third. The leg of passerine birds contains an additional special adaptation for perching. A tendon in the rear of the leg running from the underside of the toes to the muscle behind the tibiotarsus will automatically be pulled and tighten when the leg bends, causing the foot to curl and become stiff when the bird lands on a branch. This enables passerines to sleep while perching without falling off. Most passerine birds have 12 tail feathers but
3591-944: The southern continents in the early Eocene . The New Zealand wrens are the first to become isolated in Zealandia , and the second split involved the origin of the Tyranni in South America and the Passeri in the Australian continent . The Passeri experienced a great radiation of forms in Australia. A major branch of the Passeri, the parvorder Passerida , dispersed into Eurasia and Africa about 40 million years ago, where they experienced further radiation of new lineages. This eventually led to three major Passerida lineages comprising about 4,000 species, which in addition to
3654-502: The speculation that they might become intoxicated by the alcohol. Laboratory experiments on European starlings have found that they have disposal enzymes that allow them to break down alcohol very quickly. In addition to consuming fruits, many starlings also consume nectar . The extent to which starlings are important pollinators is unknown, but at least some are, such as the slender-billed starling of alpine East Africa, which pollinates giant lobelias . The starling family Sturnidae
3717-455: The starlings are usually dominated by fruits and insects. Many species are important dispersers of seeds, in Asia and Africa, for example, white sandalwood and Indian banyan . In addition to trees, they are also important dispersers of parasitic mistletoes . In South Africa, the red-winged starling is an important disperser of the introduced Acacia cyclops . Starlings have been observed feeding on fermenting over-ripe fruit, which led to
3780-413: The subject of research into the evolution of human language . Starlings are medium-sized passerines . The shortest-bodied species is Kenrick's starling ( Poeoptera kenricki ), at 15 cm (6 in), but the lightest-weight species is Abbott's starling ( Poeoptera femoralis ), which is 34 g ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 oz). The largest starling, going on standard measurements and perhaps weight,
3843-516: The true horizon. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway, and Sweden: Murmansk (population 295,374) and Norilsk (178,018) in Russia; Tromsø (75,638) in Norway, Vorkuta (58,133) in Russia, Bodø (52,357) and Harstad (24,703) in Norway; and Kiruna , Sweden (22,841). Rovaniemi (62,667) in Finland is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of
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#17327810651283906-411: Was introduced (as Sturnidia) by French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. The starlings belong to the superfamily Muscicapoidea, together with thrushes , flycatchers and chats , as well as dippers , which are quite distant relatives, and Mimidae (thrashers and mockingbirds). The latter are apparently the Sturnidae's closest living relatives, replace them in the Americas , and have
3969-452: Was not inspired to do so by Shakespeare's works. The starlings are generally a highly social family. Most species associate in flocks of varying sizes throughout the year. Murmuration is the flocking of starlings, including the swarm behaviour of their large flight formations. These flocks may include other species of starlings and sometimes species from other families. This sociality is particularly evident in their roosting behaviour; in
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