European Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Notes:

It doesn't take a starling long to devour a block of suet.

Species ID Suggestions

3 Comments

freelancing 12 years ago

Sorry, I cannot help. I've rescued 2 starlings before - both were adults and really needed nothing special other than to be protected from predators. Juvenile birds have very special needs. This owlette needs to be taken a bird rehabilitator or a zoo immediately for help. Various birds need certain vitamins to survive when in captivity. A young bird has a less developed digestive system. Whenever I've found a baby bird, if I haven't been able to get it to a rehabilitator within 24 hours, it has always died on me. A starling is kinda like the milkweed of birds - they're almost hard to kill. They'll eat anything (almost - although the one I had for 6 months was very picky and would only eat gourmet mynah bird food from the pet store). Some birds of prey will bring insects to their young at first, then fresh kills (squirrels, rabbits, etc.) - but some may regurgitate the food first.

I know you don't want to make eye contact with baby owls. Rehabilitators feed them using hand puppets that look like owl faces. Baby owls will imprint on their caretakers if you make eye contact too long and they will think they are people - making it impossible for them to fend for themselves when they are adults. This is a special type of predator bird that needs very special diet and handling.