Those Pesky Starlings

The Poetic Origins Of Washington's 'Rats With Wings'

At the end of summer, dark clouds of birds swarm over some Washington neighborhoods. At night, these flocks of European starlings -- hundreds of them -- cover the tree branches. In the morning, you-know-what covers everything else.

This makes the people who live there very unhappy. On Potomac Avenue in Southeast Washington, postal carriers sometimes even refuse to deliver mail because the sidewalks are so slick and yucky from the great globs of poop.

"Rats with wings" is what some people call the pesky birds.

Blame It on Shakespeare

Compared with most birds in America, starlings are newcomers. They were brought here in the 1890s for a silly reason: A group of Americans who liked English writer William Shakespeare thought this country should have all the birds mentioned in his poems and plays.

There were no starlings around, so the Americans sent for 100 from Europe. The birds were released in New York City's Central Park.

It didn't take long for the starlings to start spreading. The feathered little bullies grabbed the best nesting holes wherever they went. Soon there were lots more starlings than bluebirds, wrens and other native birds.

Starlings are great at finding ways to live in new places. At first they nested in tree holes. Then they discovered that nooks in buildings make good homes, too.

They liked to eat insects but, hey, there's nothing wrong with city garbage. And newly planted crops? Yum!

There aren't many birds that can live in hot, dry deserts as well as very cold, wet places. But starlings figured out how to do it.

And wherever they go, they add plants to their nests that keep away blood-sucking mites and lice. That means their babies have a good chance of growing up healthy.