Not-so-great speckled bird

By Aaron Horrell

This photo was taken near my birdfeeder Dec. 6, 2013, after an early winter snowstorm.

The bird is a native to Europe and western Asia. It is called the European starling or "common starling."

The European starling is an aggressive songbird about the size of the American robin.

A small flock of 60 common starlings was brought to North America in 1890 by an organization known as The American Acclimation Society.

The flock was released in Central Park in New York City. This relocation effort was a colossal mistake by most standards. It may be a very beautiful speckled bird, but it is more aggressive than most native American songbirds.

It will remove fledglings from native bird nests in summer and overwhelm birdfeeders during winter.

The common starling is listed as an invasive species in the U.S.

It is not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

You may lawfully remove common starlings if they invade your bird feeder this winter. Cage trapping may be the best and most reasonable option.

Well over 100 million common starlings are estimated to exist in the United States today.