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Iron poisoning

Iron poisoning typically occurs from ingestion of excess iron that results in acute toxicity. Mild symptoms which occur within hours include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and drowsiness. In more severe cases, symptoms can include tachypnea, low blood pressure, seizures, or coma. If left untreated, iron poisoning can lead to multi-organ failure resulting in permanent organ damage or death.

Iron is available over the counter as a single entity supplement in an iron salt form or in combination with vitamin supplements and is commonly used in the treatment of anemias. Overdoses on iron can be categorized as unintentional ingestion which is predominantly associated with children or intentional ingestion involving suicide attempts in adults. Unintentional ingestion of iron containing drug products are a major cause of mortality in children under the age of 6 years old in the United States. As a response, in 1997 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented a regulation requiring warning labels and unit dose packaging for products containing more than 30 mg of elemental iron per dose.

The diagnosis of iron poisoning is based on clinical presentation including laboratory tests for serum iron concentrations and metabolic acidosis along with physical examination. Treatment for iron poisoning involves providing fluid replacement, gastrointestinal decontamination, administering deferoxamine intravenously, liver transplants, and monitoring the patient's condition. The degree of intervention required depends on whether the patient is at risk for serious toxicity.

Signs and symptoms
Manifestation of iron poisoning may vary depending on the amount of iron ingested by the individual and is further classified by five stages based on timing of signs and symptoms. In mild to moderate cases, individuals may be asymptomatic or only experience mild gastrointestinal symptoms that resolve within six hours. In serious cases, individuals may present with systemic signs and symptoms and require treatment. Clinical presentation of iron poisoning in the absence of treatment progresses in five stages: the gastrointestinal phase, latent phase, metabolic acidosis and shock phase, hepatotoxicity phase, and bowel obstruction due to scarring.

The first indication of iron poisoning occurs within the first six hours post-ingestion and involves gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain accompanied by nausea and vomiting with or without blood. Due to the disintegration of iron tablets, the stool may appear as black or dark green or gray. After the first stage, gastrointestinal symptoms appear to resolve in the latent phase and individuals may show signs of improvement. Following this stage, the iron begins to affect the cells of the body's organs which manifests as numerous systemic signs and symptoms developing after 6 to 72 hours, in the metabolic acidosis phase. Individuals may present with signs of cardiogenic shock indicated by low blood pressure, rapid heart rate and severe shortness of breath. Hypovolemic shock occurs due to loss of blood from the gastrointestinal bleeding caused by the iron. During this phase, metabolic acidosis may also develop damaging internal organs such as the brain and liver. In the fourth stage taking place 12 to 96 hours after ingestion, liver toxicity and failure occurs as the cells begin to die. In the last stage of iron poisoning following 2 to 8 weeks after ingestion, scarring of the gastrointestinal mucosal lining resulting in bowel obstruction.

Pathophysiology
Iron is essential for the production of hemoglobin in red blood cells which is responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. In normal physiologic conditions, nonionic forms of iron (Fe°) are converted into ferrous iron (Fe2+) by gastric acid in the stomach. Ferrous iron is then absorbed in the small intestine where it is oxidized into its ferric iron (Fe3+) form before being released into the bloodstream. Free iron in the blood is toxic to the body as it disrupts normal cell function, damaging organs such as the liver, stomach, and cardiovascular system. The human body has protective mechanisms in place to prevent excess free ferric iron from circulating the body. When being transported throughout the body, iron is bound to an iron transporting protein called transferrin to prevent iron from being absorbed into different cells. Any excess iron is stored as ferritin in the liver. In the event of iron overdose, iron stores become oversaturated and the body's protective mechanisms fail resulting in excess free circulating iron.

Toxic Dose
Iron poisoning can occur when doses of 20 to 60 mg/kg or more of elemental iron is ingested with most cases reporting primarily gastrointestinal symptoms. Systemic signs and symptoms shown in serious toxicity occur at higher doses exceeding 60 mg/kg. Ingesting above 120 mg/kg may be fatal. The therapeutic dose for iron deficiency anemia is 3–6 mg/kg/day. Individuals who have ingested less than 20 mg/kg of elemental iron typically do not exhibit symptoms. It is unlikely to get iron poisoning from diet alone with iron supplements being the cause of overdose. The amount of elemental iron in an iron supplement can be calculate based on the percentage it constitutes for per tablet. For example, a 300 mg tablet of ferrous fumarate will contain 100 mg of elemental iron or 33%.

 * Ferrous sulfate contains 20% elemental iron per mg of mineral salt
 * Ferrous gluconate contains 12% elemental iron per mg of mineral salt
 * Ferrous fumarate contains 33% elemental iron per mg of mineral salt

Diagnosis
Iron toxicity is primarily a clinical diagnosis that involves getting a detailed patient history and physical examination of the individuals signs and symptoms. Information such as how much iron was ingested and the timing should be gathered to assess the level of toxicity. Signs for severe iron poisoning should be evaluated such as any confusion or extreme lethargy, increased heart rates, low blood pressure for adults. In children, signs of shock can be noted with behavioral changes such as decreased responsiveness, crying, and inability to focus. Persistent vomiting is often associated with iron poisoning and also used to determine severity of iron poisoning. Laboratory tests such as measuring the peak serum iron level after 4 to 6 hours of ingestion can be useful in determining the severity of iron toxicity. In general, levels below 350mcg/dL are associated with more mild iron poisoning while upper levels above 500mcg/dL are associated with more severe iron poisoning. Measuring electrolyte levels, kidney function, serum glucose, liver function tests (enzymes and bilirubin), complete blood count, clotting time via prothrombin and partial thromboplastin time, anion gap for metabolic acidosis, should be conducted for clinical monitoring and confirmation of iron poisoning.

The deferoxamine challenge test is a diagnostic test for confirming iron poisoning, however it is no longer recommended for diagnostic purposes due to concerns regarding the accuracy. Deferoxamine can be administered intramuscularly as a single dose where it then binds to free iron in the blood and is excreted into the urine turning it to a "brick orange" or pink/red/orange color. Radiographs are no longer used for diagnosis due to the lack of connection between severity of iron toxicity and the presence of radiopaque iron tablets in the stomach on X-rays. This method also requires that the ingested tablet to be radiopaque which most iron preparations are not.

Treatment
Management of acute iron poisoning involves providing a patient with respiratory support and intravenous deferoxamine. Patients exhibiting severe symptoms in the gastrointestinal phase should receive volume resuscitation to prevent hypovolemic shock from the loss of blood volume. Normal saline is administered intravenously to maintain adequate volume of fluid in the body. Deferoxamine is a drug that is used in cases of serious iron poisoning. It is a chelating agent and binds to free iron in the body in order to be eliminated by the kidneys into urine. Dosing of deferoxamine should be determined through consultation with a toxicologist but is typically continuously infused at 15 mg/kg to 35 mg/kg per hour and not exceeding the maximum daily dose of 6 grams for adults. In pediatric patients, doses should not exceed 15 mg/kg per hour. recommended duration of treatment is until symptoms have resolved which is usually 24 hours. In non-fatal cases of iron poisoning where there is liver failure, liver transplantation may be necessary.

Treatment of iron poisoning should be based on clinical presentation, peak serum iron levels and other laboratory results. As a general guideline, patients who have ingested lower doses of elemental iron, have a peak serum iron level less than 500mcg/dL and are asymptomatic or only exhibit mild gastrointestinal symptoms typically do not require treatment and should be monitored for 6 hours after ingestion. In cases where high doses of elemental iron have been ingested and the patient is exhibiting signs and symptoms of severe systemic iron poisoning, supportive care measures like volume resuscitation and deferoxamine should be initiated immediately. A quick response to iron poisoning can significantly improve clinical outcomes.

title: Iron poisoning


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23rd Annual Grammy Awards

The 23rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1981, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1980.

Album of the Year went to Michael Omartian and Christopher Cross for Christopher Cross, Record and Song of the Year went to Christopher Cross for "Sailing". Cross was the first artist in Grammy history to win all four General Field awards in a single ceremony, bringing home Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.

Performers

 * Irene Cara - Fame
 * The Manhattan Transfer & Chuck Mangione - Birdland & Give It All You Got
 * Aretha Franklin - Can't Turn You Loose
 * Barbara Mandrell - The Best of Strangers
 * George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today
 * The Oak Ridge Boys - Heart of Mine
 * Mickey Gilley
 * The Lord's Prayer (song)
 * Paul Simon - Late in the Evening
 * Lionel Richie - Lady (Kenny Rogers song)
 * Amanda McBroom - The Rose (song)
 * Christopher Cross - Sailing (Christopher Cross song)
 * Fred Ebb & John Kander - Theme from New York, New York

Presenters

 * Harry Belafonte & Herb Alpert - Best New Artist
 * Al Jarreau & Woody Herman - Best Jazz Fusion Performance Vocal or Instrumental
 * The Commodores - Best R&B Female Performance
 * Charley Pride & Conway Twitty - Best Country Performance Male and Female; Best Vocal Country Performance Duo or Group
 * Rev. James Cleveland & James Blackwood - Best Gospel Performance
 * Judy Collins & Harry Chapin - Announced winners in previous categories
 * Andy Gibb & Dionne Warwick - Best Pop Male Performance
 * Donna Summer & Michael McDonald - Album of the Year
 * Placido Domingo - Announced winners in the Classical category
 * Olivia Newton-John & Peter Allen - Song of the Year
 * Diana Ross & Kris Kristofferson - Record of the Year
 * Paul Simon - Paid tribute to John Lennon

Award winners

 * Record of the Year
 * Michael Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for "Sailing"
 * Album of the Year
 * Michael Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for Christopher Cross
 * Song of the Year
 * Christopher Cross for "Sailing"
 * Best New Artist
 * Christopher Cross

Children's

 * Best Recording for Children
 * David Levine & Lucy Simon (producers) for In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record performed by various artists

Classical

 * Best Classical Orchestral Recording
 * Raymond Minshull (producer), Georg Solti (conductor) & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A
 * Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance
 * Henry Lewis (conductor), Leontyne Price & the Philharmonia Orchestra for Prima Donna, Vol. 5 - Great Soprano Arias From Handel to Britten
 * Best Opera Recording
 * Gunther Breest, Michael Horwath (producers), Pierre Boulez (conductor), Toni Blankenheim, Franz Mazura, Yvonne Minton,  Teresa Stratas  & the Orchestre de l'Opera de Paris for Berg: Lulu
 * Best Choral Performance, Classical
 * Carlo Maria Giulini (conductor), Norbert Balatsch (chorus master) & the Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus for Mozart: Requiem
 * Best Classical Performance- Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with orchestra)
 * Bernard Haitink (conductor), Itzhak Perlman, Mstislav Rostropovich & the Concertgebouw Orchestra for Brahms: Violin and Cello Concerto in A Minor (Double Concerto)
 * Seiji Ozawa (conductor), Itzhak Perlman & the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Berg: Violin Concerto/Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D
 * Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (without orchestra)
 * Itzhak Perlman for The Spanish Album
 * Best Chamber Music Performance
 * Itzhak Perlman & Pinchas Zukerman for Music for Two Violins (Moszkowski: Suite For Two Violins/Shostakovich: Duets/Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins)
 * Best Classical Album
 * Gunther Breest, Michael Horwath (producers), Pierre Boulez (conductor), Toni Blankenheim, Franz Mazura, Yvonne Minton, Teresa Stratas, & the Orchestre de l'Opera de Paris for Berg: Lulu

Comedy

 * Best Comedy Recording
 * Rodney Dangerfield for No Respect

Composing and arranging

 * Best Instrumental Composition
 * John Williams (composer) for The Empire Strikes Back
 * Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special
 * John Williams (composer) for The Empire Strikes Back
 * Best Instrumental Arrangement
 * Jerry Hey & Quincy Jones (arrangers) for "Dinorah, Dinorah" performed by George Benson
 * Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
 * Christopher Cross & Michael Omartian (arrangers) for "Sailing" performed by Christopher Cross
 * Best Arrangement for Voices
 * Janis Siegel (arranger) for "Birdland" performed by The Manhattan Transfer

Country

 * Best Country Vocal Performance, Female
 * Anne Murray for "Could I Have This Dance?"
 * Best Country Vocal Performance, Male
 * George Jones for "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
 * Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
 * Emmylou Harris & Roy Orbison for "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again"
 * Best Country Instrumental Performance
 * Gilley's Urban Cowboy Band for "Orange Blossom Special/Hoedown"
 * Best Country Song
 * Willie Nelson (songwriter) for "On the Road Again"

Folk

 * Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording
 * Norman Dayron (producer) for Rare Blues performed by various artists

Gospel

 * Best Gospel Performance, Traditional
 * Blackwood Brothers for We Come to Worship
 * Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational
 * The Archers, Cynthia Clawson, Andrae Crouch, Tramaine Hawkins, Walter Hawkins, Dony McGuire, Reba Rambo & B.J. Thomas for The Lord's Prayer
 * Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional
 * James Cleveland & the Charles Fold Singers for Lord, Let Me Be an Instrument
 * Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary
 * Shirley Caesar for Rejoice
 * Best Inspirational Performance
 * Debby Boone for With My Song I Will Praise Him

Historical

 * Best Historical Reissue Album
 * Keith Hardwick (producer) for Segovia - The EMI Recordings 1927-39

Jazz

 * Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
 * Ella Fitzgerald for A Perfect Match
 * Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male
 * George Benson for "Moody's Mood"
 * Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist
 * Bill Evans for I Will Say Goodbye
 * Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Group
 * Bill Evans for We Will Meet Again
 * Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Big Band
 * Count Basie for On the Road
 * Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental
 * The Manhattan Transfer for "Birdland"

Latin

 * Best Latin Recording
 * Cal Tjader for La Onda Va Bien

Musical show

 * Best Cast Show Album
 * Andrew Lloyd Webber (producer and composer), Tim Rice (producer and lyricist) & the original cast with Patti Lupone & Mandy Patinkin for Evita - Premier American Recording

Packaging and notes

 * Best Album Package
 * Roy Kohara (art director) for Against the Wind performed by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
 * Best Album Notes
 * David McClintick (notes writer) for Trilogy: Past, Present and Future performed by Frank Sinatra

Pop

 * Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female
 * The Rose-Bette Midler
 * Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male
 * This Is It-Kenny Loggins
 * Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
 * Guilty-Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb
 * Best Pop Instrumental Performance
 * One on One-Bob James & Earl Klugh

Production and engineering

 * Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
 * James Guthrie (engineer) for The Wall performed by Pink Floyd
 * Best Engineered Recording, Classical
 * Karl-August Naegler (engineer), Pierre Boulez (conductor) & the Orchestre de l'Opera de Paris for Berg: Lulu (Complete Version)
 * Producer of the Year, (Non-Classical)
 * Phil Ramone
 * Classical Producer of the Year
 * Robert Woods

R&B

 * Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
 * Stephanie Mills for "Never Knew Love Like This Before"
 * Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male
 * George Benson for Give Me the Night
 * Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
 * The Manhattans for "Shining Star"
 * Best R&B Instrumental Performance
 * George Benson for "Off Broadway"
 * Best Rhythm & Blues Song
 * James Mtume & Reggie Lucas (songwriters) for "Never Knew Love Like This Before" performed by Stephanie Mills

Rock

 * Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female
 * Pat Benatar for Crimes of Passion
 * Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male
 * Billy Joel for Glass Houses
 * Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
 * Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band for Against the Wind
 * Best Rock Instrumental Performance
 * The Police for "Reggatta de Blanc"

Spoken word

 * Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording
 * Pat Carroll for Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein

Trivia

 * Christopher Cross became the first artist to win all four general-field awards in one night: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 23rd Annual Grammy Awards


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Fleet Pond

Fleet Pond is a 48.3 ha biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Fleet in Hampshire. It is also a Local Nature Reserve.

Geography and Biodiversity
This large and shallow lake, fed by Fleet Brook, is surrounded by reed beds, alder carr and oak and birch woodland. The lake has a rich aquatic flora and fauna, including large populations of reed warblers and other wetland birds.

The pond has varied habitats surrounding it, including heathland, marsh, reedbed and woodland.

History
The pond is first documented in 1324, when there were two ponds which were used as a fishery. In medieval times, "pond" always referred to a man-made structure, whereas "lake" referred to a natural feature, and so it is likely that the ponds were created by raising banks at the northern edge. From 1491, the Prior of Winchester leased the ponds to the occupier of Fleet Farm, in exchange for one hundred fresh fish a year, delivered to Winchester. When the lease was renewed in 1833, it was noted that there was now only one pond. The second pond was probably near Ancells Farm. Shortly afterwards, the London and Southampton Railway bought the pond for £50 as it stood in the way of their line, and built an embankment across the northern end. They appreciated its potential as a tourist destination, and opened Fleet Pond Halt so that day trippers could visit it. Much of the surrounding area became a military training ground in 1854, and as part of that training, soldiers built a 470 yd trestle bridge across it in 1885. During the Second World War, the pond was drained, to make the area less visible to enemy aircraft, but it was refilled in 1947, and planted with reeds. The pond became one of the first SSSIs in Hampshire in 1951, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, duly re-registered, but to omit the portion north of the embankment. Hart District Council bought the pond and surrounding heath in 1972, after the army dubbed it redundant, and since 1976 has worked with the Fleet Pond Society to create a Local nature reserve. They have installed two bridges to create a circular walk around the pond.

title: Fleet Pond


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Perpetuum mobile

In music, perpetuum mobile (English pronunciation /pərˌpɛtjʊəm ˈmoʊbɪleɪ/, /ˈmoʊbɪli/; literally, "perpetual motion"), moto perpetuo (Italian), mouvement perpétuel (French), movimento perpétuo (Portuguese) movimiento perpetuo (Spanish), is a term used to describe a rapidly executed and persistently maintained figuration, usually of notes of equal length. Over time it has taken on two distinct applications: first, as describing entire musical compositions or passages within them that are characterised by a continuous stream of notes, usually but not always at a rapid tempo; and second, as describing entire compositions, or extended passages within them that are meant to be played in a repetitious fashion, often an indefinite number of times.

Types of perpetuum mobile composition

As a distinct composition, perpetuum mobile can be defined as one in which part or most of the piece is intended to be repeated an often unspecified number of times, without the "motion" of the melody being halted when a repeat begins.

Canons are often intended to be performed in a moto perpetuo fashion, and can thus be called canon perpetuus.

In some cases the repeats of a "perpetuum mobile" piece are at a different pitch, a modulation or a chord progression occurs during the repeatable part. Some of the riddle canons of Bach's Das Musikalische Opfer are examples of this particular kind of perpetuum mobile/canon perpetuus.

Perpetuum mobile as a genre of separate musical compositions was at the height of its popularity by the end of the 19th century. Such pieces would often be performed as virtuoso encores, in some cases increasing the tempo along the repeats.

Examples
Perpetuum mobile pieces of both kinds include:

Baroque period

 * The Preludio from Bach's Partita for Violin No. 3 consists almost entirely of sixteenth notes.

Classical period

 * The finale of Haydn's String Quartet No. 53 in D major ("The Lark"), Op. 64, No. 5
 * The finale of Beethoven's 22nd piano sonata, and large segments of the finales of his Tempest and Appassionata sonatas (although these are not very fast; the Tempest and the 22nd sonata are only marked Allegretto, and the Appassionata is marked Allegro ma non troppo)
 * The second of Franz Schubert's Impromptus, D. 899
 * The fourth of Franz Schubert's moments musicaux (likewise not very fast, marked Moderato)

Romantic period

 * The finale of Carl Maria von Weber's Piano Sonata No. 1
 * Charles-Valentin Alkan's Le chemin de fer, op. 27, for piano
 * Felix Mendelssohn's Perpetuum mobile, op. 119, for piano
 * Ottokar Novacek's Perpetuum Mobile, for violin and piano
 * Nicolò Paganini's Moto perpetuo Op. 11 (No. 6) for violin
 * Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, an interlude for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan
 * Johann Strauss II's Perpetuum Mobile: musikalischer Scherz for orchestra
 * Robert Schumann's Hasche-Mann from Kinderszenen
 * Bedřich Smetana's Album Leaf No.3 from Six Album Leaves Op. 2
 * Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, third movement
 * Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, third movement

20th century

 * Mouvement (from Images, Set 1), a 1905 piano composition by Claude Debussy
 * Perpetuum Mobile (from Die allerersten Vortragsstueckchen des jungen Cellisten Op.19) by Hugo Schlemüller (1912)
 * The second movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 (1912–1913)
 * Trois Mouvements perpétuels, a 1918 piano composition by Francis Poulenc
 * The end of the opera Wozzeck, Act III Scene 5, by Alban Berg (1914–1924)
 * The last movement of Maurice Ravel's Violin Sonata No. 2 (1923–1927)
 * The organ solo (movement 7) from Janáček's Glagolitic Mass (1926)
 * The last movement of the Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber (1939)
 * The last movement of Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra(1943)
 * Prelude no. 2 in A minor from 24 Preludes and Fugues by Dmitri Shostakovich (1950–1951). Also the third movement of his Symphony No. 8 in C minor
 * The final movement of Benjamin Britten's Cello Sonata in C Major Op. 65 (1960). Also the third movement of his Suite for Violin and Piano Op. 6 (1935), the finale of his first solo cello suite (1964) and the penultimate movement of his third cello suite (1972)
 * Arvo Pärt's orchestral Perpetuum mobile (1963)
 * "Perpetuum Mobile" by Michael Roberts, used as the startup music for Thames Television and earlier ABC Weekend TV
 * "Perpetuum Mobile for pedals alone" a showpiece for Organ by Wilhelm Middelschulte
 * "Fracture", a moto perpetuo piece based on the whole-tone scale composed by guitarist Robert Fripp and included on the 1974 album Starless and Bible Black
 * "Canto Ostinato" by Simeon ten Holt (1976)
 * John Adams's Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)
 * "Perpetuum Mobile" by Penguin Cafe Orchestra (1987)
 * "Velocities (Moto Perpetuo)" for solo marimba by Joseph Schwantner (1990)
 * "Equus" by Eric Whitacre (2000)

21st century

 * The album Perpetuum Mobile by the German avant garde group Einstürzende Neubauten has some examples of the concept
 * Neil Peart's drum solo "Moto perpetuo" on Rush's 2011 album Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland
 * "Nonstop" by Juan María Solare, piano solo invention in the time signature 5/8 (2020).

title: Perpetuum mobile


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Ticha Penicheiro

Patrícia "Ticha" Nunes Penicheiro OIH (September 18, 1974) is a Portuguese sports agent and former basketball player. She played for the Sacramento Monarchs of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for most of her professional career. She was a four-time WNBA All-Star and a three-time All-WNBA selection. Regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, she ranks third all-time in career assists and led the league in assists seven times. She won a WNBA championship with the Monarchs in 2005. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

College years
Penicheiro was born and raised in Figueira da Foz, Portugal. Penicheiro played for several professional clubs through her teenage years, though she did not play at the senior level until after she starred for Old Dominion University college basketball team. She played at Old Dominion from 1994 to 1998 and helped lead the Lady Monarchs to the 1997 NCAA Championship game. In 1997, Penicheiro was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team. During her playing time at ODU, Penicheiro collected 1,304 career points and finished her career as ODU's all-time steal leader with 591. She is second all-time at ODU on the career assist list to another ODU great, Nancy Lieberman, with 939. She is the Colonial Athletic Association's all-time leader in both assists and steals.

Penicheiro is a two-time Kodak All-American, selected in 1997 and 1998. She became ODU's second winner of the prestigious Lifetime/Wade Trophy and the first international player to win the honor. A four-time All-CAA honoree, Ticha was named the conference's Player-of-the Year in 1995-96 and 1996-97 while also claiming the Rookie of the Year award in 1994–95. She graduated from Old Dominion in 1998 with degrees in communications and interdisciplinary studies, and was inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Old Dominion statistics
Source

WNBA career
In 1998, Ticha Penicheiro commenced her professional basketball career with the Sacramento Monarchs, marking her debut as a rookie in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Notably, she secured the third position in the voting for the WNBA Rookie of the Year award. Throughout her tenure, Penicheiro distinguished herself as a four-time WNBA All-Star player, achieving prominence for her adeptness on the court. She notably equaled the WNBA's record for the highest number of assists in a single game on two occasions, further solidifying her reputation as a proficient playmaker.

In 1999, Penicheiro's exceptional performance led to her selection as a WNBA first-team player. During this season, she achieved a personal milestone by attaining her highest scoring output in the WNBA, netting 27 points against the Minnesota Lynx. In subsequent years, she maintained her stature in the league, earning a place on the WNBA's second team in 2001.

By June 19, 2003, Penicheiro had amassed notable career statistics, including 1,027 points, 1,121 assists, 615 rebounds, and 322 steals in the WNBA. Her remarkable averages of 6.8 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.15 steals per game underscored her significant contributions to the sport.

Penicheiro retired as the all-time WNBA leader in total assists and assists per game. Penicheiro's legacy in the WNBA is distinguished by her remarkable playmaking abilities, characterized by her consistently flashy style on the court. Notably, she played a pivotal role in leading the Sacramento Monarchs to their inaugural WNBA championship title in 2005.

Following the dissolution of the Monarchs franchise, Penicheiro transitioned to the Los Angeles Sparks. In recognition of her stellar career, fans voted her among the Top 15 players in the WNBA's fifteen-year history in 2011. Despite signing with the Chicago Sky in February 2012, injuries hampered her performance, prompting her decision to retire from the WNBA at the conclusion of the 2012 season.

Penicheiro's contributions to the sport were further acknowledged with her induction into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. Her enduring impact on women's basketball culminated in her inclusion in the WNBA Top 20@20 list in 2016, commemorating the league's twentieth anniversary. Additionally, she was honored as a member of The W25, the WNBA's 25th anniversary team, in 2021, solidifying her status as one of the league's most influential figures.

Regular season

 * align="left" | 1998
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 30 || 30 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|36.0° || .333 || .233 || .642 || 4.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.5° || 2.2 || 0.1 || 3.87 || 6.3
 * align="left" | 1999
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 32 || 32 || 35.0 || .320 || .158 || .664 || 4.8 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.1° || 2.1 || 0.2 || 4.22 || 7.3
 * align="left" | 2000
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 30 || 30 || 31.2 || .368 || .200 || .579 || 3.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.9° || 2.3 || 0.2 || 2.37 || 6.9
 * align="left" | 2001
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 23 || 22 || 32.3 || .339 || .262 || .766 || 3.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.5° || 1.7 || 0.4 || 2.78 || 6.3
 * align="left" | 2002
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 24 || 24 || 35.5 || .377 || .250 || .728 || 4.3 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|8.0° || 2.7 || 0.0 || 2.88 || 8.5
 * align="left" | 2003
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 34 || 34 || 32.0 || .302 || .250 || .579 || 3.5 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.7° || 1.8 || 0.0 || 2.38 || 5.4
 * align="left" | 2004
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 32 || 32 || 29.4 || .354 || .338 || .714 || 3.1 || 4.9 || 1.9 || 0.1 || 2.18 || 6.0
 * style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2005†
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 34 || 33 || 27.3 || .314 || .195 || .790 || 2.9 || 4.4 || 1.4 || 0.2 || 1.97 || 5.7
 * align="left" | 2006
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 34 || 34 || 24.9 || .339 || .194 || .792 || 2.7 || 3.4 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 1.97 || 5.4
 * align="left" | 2007
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 32 || 32 || 23.7 || .314 || .214 || .822 || 2.6 || 4.5 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 1.88 || 5.7
 * align="left" | 2008
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 33 || 33 || 25.9 || .374 || .286 || .809 || 3.0 || 5.2 || 2.0 || 0.1 || 2.64 || 8.6
 * align="left" | 2009
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 30 || 28 || 24.1 || .324 || .111 || .814 || 2.7 || 5.2 || 1.0 || 0.1 || 2.13 || 4.9
 * align="left" | 2010
 * align="left" | Los Angeles
 * 32 || 30 || 26.3 || .410 || .111 || .819 || 4.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.9° || 1.3 || 0.1 || 2.25 || 4.9
 * align="left" | 2011
 * align="left" | Los Angeles
 * 34 || 23 || 23.7 || .486 || .417 || .868 || 2.8 || 4.8 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 2.09 || 6.0
 * align="left" | 2012
 * align="left" | Chicago
 * 18 || 5 || 12.8 || .375 || .200 || .545 || 1.3 || 2.1 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 2.00 || 1.8
 * align="left" | Career
 * align="left" |15 years, 3 teams
 * 453 || 422 || 28.2 || .351 || .248 || .731 || 3.3 || 5.7 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 2.50 || 6.1
 * align="left" | 2010
 * align="left" | Los Angeles
 * 32 || 30 || 26.3 || .410 || .111 || .819 || 4.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.9° || 1.3 || 0.1 || 2.25 || 4.9
 * align="left" | 2011
 * align="left" | Los Angeles
 * 34 || 23 || 23.7 || .486 || .417 || .868 || 2.8 || 4.8 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 2.09 || 6.0
 * align="left" | 2012
 * align="left" | Chicago
 * 18 || 5 || 12.8 || .375 || .200 || .545 || 1.3 || 2.1 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 2.00 || 1.8
 * align="left" | Career
 * align="left" |15 years, 3 teams
 * 453 || 422 || 28.2 || .351 || .248 || .731 || 3.3 || 5.7 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 2.50 || 6.1
 * align="left" | Career
 * align="left" |15 years, 3 teams
 * 453 || 422 || 28.2 || .351 || .248 || .731 || 3.3 || 5.7 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 2.50 || 6.1
 * 453 || 422 || 28.2 || .351 || .248 || .731 || 3.3 || 5.7 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 2.50 || 6.1

Postseason

 * align="left" | 1999
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 1 || 1 || 20.0 || .200 || .000 || 1.000 || 4.0 || 3.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 2.00 || 4.0
 * align="left" | 2000
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 2 || 2 || 38.5 || .250 || .500 || .833 || 3.5 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.0° || 2.0 || 0.0 || 3.00 || 8.0
 * align="left" | 2001
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 5 || 5 || 32.6 || .250 || .368 || 1.000 || 3.8 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.6° || 0.6 || 0.8 || 1.80 || 6.2
 * align="left" | 2003
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 6 || 6 || 23.8 || .333 || .250 || .875 || 2.3 || 3.0 || 1.0 || 0.5 || 1.17 || 4.2
 * align="left" | 2004
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 6 || 6 || 32.2 || .222 || .133 || .688 || 3.3 || 5.3 || 2.5 || 0.3 || 3.17 || 4.2
 * style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2005†
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 6 || 6 || 27.0 || .323 || .000 || .800 || 4.0 || 5.2 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 2.33 || 5.3
 * align="left" | 2006
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 9 || 9 || 23.8 || .294 || .286 || .647 || 2.3 || 3.8 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 1.22 || 5.0
 * align="left" | 2007
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 3 || 3 || 23.0 || .273 || .000 || .600 || 2.3 || 5.0 || 2.3 || 0.0 || 3.33 || 6.0
 * align="left" | 2008
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 3 || 3 || 31.3 || .486 || .750 || .667 || 4.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.3° || 2.3 || 0.3 || 1.67 || 13.7
 * align="left" | 2010
 * align="left" | Los Angeles
 * 2 || 2 || 29.5 || .455 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 0.0 || 3.00 || 6.0
 * align="left" | Career
 * align="left" |10 years, 2 teams
 * 43 || 43 || 27.7 || .314 || .288 || .747 || 3.1 || 4.7 || 1.5 || 0.3 || 2.07 || 5.8
 * align="left" | 2008
 * align="left" | Sacramento
 * 3 || 3 || 31.3 || .486 || .750 || .667 || 4.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.3° || 2.3 || 0.3 || 1.67 || 13.7
 * align="left" | 2010
 * align="left" | Los Angeles
 * 2 || 2 || 29.5 || .455 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 0.0 || 3.00 || 6.0
 * align="left" | Career
 * align="left" |10 years, 2 teams
 * 43 || 43 || 27.7 || .314 || .288 || .747 || 3.1 || 4.7 || 1.5 || 0.3 || 2.07 || 5.8
 * align="left" |10 years, 2 teams
 * 43 || 43 || 27.7 || .314 || .288 || .747 || 3.1 || 4.7 || 1.5 || 0.3 || 2.07 || 5.8

International career
Penicheiro was a member of Portugal's national women's basketball team. She was also on the Spartak Moscow Region team, with Tina Thompson, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi. She played for Galatasaray Medical Park of Turkey in the 2011–12 season.

Later career
When inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, she was an active agent with about 30 clients, among them current WNBA players Kayla McBride and Courtney Vandersloot.

Personal life
Penicheiro is a supporter of the Special Olympics. She also supports ovarian cancer research in honor of one of her close friends who was diagnosed with the disease. Besides her native Portuguese, she speaks English, Spanish and conversational Italian. Her father, João, is a former basketball player and now coaches her older brother, Paulo, who plays professionally in Portugal. She became an aunt when her brother and sister-in-law gave birth to their son João Miguel in 2009. Penicheiro also enjoys listening to R&B music and Hip-Hop and is an avid collector of watches and clothes.

On February 20, 2013, Penicheiro became an American citizen, taking the oath with 1,200 others at the Sacramento Convention Center.

title: Ticha Penicheiro


text:
Military awards and decorations

Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion.

Civil decorations awarded to military personnel should not be considered military decorations, although some orders of chivalry have civil and military divisions. Decorations received by police and fire brigade personnel may sometimes be considered alongside military decorations, on which they may be modelled, although they are strictly not military awards.

History
Decorations have been known since ancient times. The Egyptian Old Kingdom had the Order of the Golden Collar while the New Kingdom awarded the Order of the Golden Fly. Celts and Romans wore a torc or received other military decorations such as the hasta pura, a spear without a tip. Dayaks wore and still wear tattoos, etc. Necklaces and bracelets were given during the early Middle Ages, evolving into large, richly jewelled necklaces, often with a pendant (commonly a medal) attached.

The oldest military decorations still in use is Sweden's För tapperhet i fält ('For Valour in the Field') and För tapperhet till sjöss ('For Valour at Sea') awarded to officers and soldiers of the Swedish Armed Forces who have—as the medal names suggest—shown valour in the field or at sea in wartime. The medal was instituted by Swedish king Gustav III on 28 May 1789, during his war against Russia. Whilst technically it is still active, it is for practical purposes inactive, not having been awarded since 1915. The next oldest is the Austro-Hungarian Tapferkeits Medaille Honour Medal for Bravery 1789–1792. This medal was instituted on 19 July 1789, by the Emperor Joseph II.

Another of the oldest military decorations still in use is Poland's War Order of Virtuti Militari. It was first awarded in 1792.

Forgery
Medals have been forged by many people to make the medal appear more valuable or to make one look like a more decorated soldier. Medal forgeries can include: adding bars, engraving a famous soldier's name on it or creating a whole new medal. Medal forgery is illegal in most countries and can be punishable by imprisonment.

Contemporary use
Today military decorations include:
 * Orders of merit;
 * Bravery awards, in the form of a cross, star or medal on a ribbon;
 * Distinguished service awards, in the form of a cross, star or medal on a ribbon;
 * Campaign medals worn on a ribbon;
 * Service medals worn on a ribbon;
 * Awards for entire units, in the form of battle honours, campaign streamers, fourragères, or unit citations.

In most NATO militaries, only the service ribbons are normally worn on everyday occasions (as opposed to the actual medals).

title: Military awards and decorations


text:
List of railway museums in the United Kingdom

This is a list of railway museums in the United Kingdom.

East of England

 * Bressingham Steam Museum, Norfolk
 * East Anglian Railway Museum
 * Mangapps Railway Museum
 * Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, Suffolk

Greater London

 * Kew Bridge Steam Museum
 * London Transport Museum
 * North Woolwich Old Station Museum (closed)
 * Southall Railway Centre
 * Walthamstow Pump House Museum

Midlands

 * Barrow Hill Roundhouse
 * Bishop's Castle Railway Museum
 * Cambrian Heritage Railways, Oswestry, Shropshire
 * Chasewater Railway Museum, Staffordshire
 * Great Central Railway (Nottingham)
 * Heritage Shunters Trust
 * Kidderminster Railway Museum
 * Market Drayton Railway Preservation Society
 * Moseley Railway Trust
 * National Tramway Museum, Crich, Derbyshire
 * North Ings Farm Museum
 * Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust
 * Rushden Station Railway Museum
 * Rutland Railway Museum, Rutland
 * Statfold Barn Railway, Tamworth
 * Stratford on Avon and Broadway Railway
 * Tyseley Locomotive Works

North East England

 * Beamish museum
 * Darlington Railway Centre and Museum (Recently renamed: Head of Steam)
 * Hopetown Carriage Works
 * Locomotion Museum, Shildon, (free entry)
 * Monkwearmouth Station Museum, Sunderland

 * Stephenson Railway Museum, North Shields

North West England

 * Astley Green Colliery Museum, Astley, Greater Manchester
 * Crewe Heritage Centre, Crewe

South East England

 * Amberley Working Museum, Arundel, West Sussex
 * Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Buckinghamshire
 * Colonel Stephens Railways Museum, Tenterden
 * Didcot Railway Centre
 * Hollycombe Steam Collection
 * Pendon Museum

South West England

 * Bere Ferrers railway station
 * Bideford Railway Heritage Centre, Devon
 * Bristol Harbour Railway and Industrial Museum
 * Coleford Great Western Railway Museum, Coleford, Gloucestershire
 * Devon Railway Centre, Devon
 * Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon
 * Shillingstone Railway Project, Dorset
 * Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
 * Swanage Railway, Dorset
 * Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life, Devon
 * Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum, Bridgwater

Yorkshire

 * Bahamas Locomotive Society
 * Doncaster Railway Works, Doncaster, South Yorkshire
 * Middleton Railway, Leeds, West Yorkshire
 * Museum of Rail Travel, Ingrow, Keighley
 * National Railway Museum, York, (free entry)

Scotland

 * Museum of Scottish Railways
 * Riverside Museum
 * Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

Wales

 * Narrow Gauge Railway Museum – Gwynedd
 * Conwy Valley Railway Museum, Betws-y-Coed
 * Griffithstown Railway Museum (closed 2011)
 * Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum

Northern Ireland

 * Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
 * Whitehead Railway Museum

Isle of Man

 * Jurby Transport Museum
 * Port Erin railway museum

Channel Islands

 * Pallot Heritage Steam Museum


text:
Common starling

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known as the European starling in North America and simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts and other gregarious situations, with an unmusical but varied song. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the Mabinogion and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare.

The common starling has about 12 subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to western Mongolia, and it has been introduced as an invasive species to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and Fiji. This bird is resident in western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations migrate south and west in the winter within the breeding range and also further south to Iberia and North Africa. The common starling builds an untidy nest in a natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue eggs are laid. These take two weeks to hatch and the young remain in the nest for another three weeks. There are normally one or two breeding attempts each year. This species is omnivorous, taking a wide range of invertebrates, as well as seeds and fruit. It is hunted by various mammals and birds of prey, and is host to a range of external and internal parasites.

Large flocks typical of this species can be beneficial to agriculture by controlling invertebrate pests; however, starlings can also be pests themselves when they feed on fruit and sprouting crops. Common starlings may also be a nuisance through the noise and mess caused by their large urban roosts. Introduced populations in particular have been subjected to a range of controls, including culling, but these have had limited success, except in preventing the colonisation of Western Australia.

The species has declined in numbers in parts of northern and western Europe since the 1980s due to fewer grassland invertebrates being available as food for growing chicks. Despite this, its huge global population is not thought to be declining significantly, so the common starling is classified as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Taxonomy and systematics
The common starling was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 under its current binomial name. Sturnus and vulgaris are derived from the Latin for "starling" and "common" respectively. The Old English staer, later stare, and the Latin sturnus are both derived from an unknown Indo-European root dating back to the second millennium BC. "Starling" was first recorded in the 11th century, when it referred to the juvenile of the species, but by the 16th century it had already largely supplanted "stare" to refer to birds of all ages. The older name is referenced in William Butler Yeats' poem "The Stare's Nest by My Window". The International Ornithological Congress's preferred English vernacular name is common starling.

The starling family, Sturnidae, is an entirely Old World group apart from introductions elsewhere, with the greatest numbers of species in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Sturnus is polyphyletic and relationships between its members are not fully resolved. The closest relation of the common starling is the spotless starling. The non-migratory spotless starling may be descended from a population of ancestral S. vulgaris that survived in an Iberian refugium during an Ice Age retreat, and mitochondrial gene studies suggest that it could be considered a subspecies of the common starling. There is more genetic variation between common starling populations than between the nominate common starling and the spotless starling. Although common starling remains are known from the Middle Pleistocene, part of the problem in resolving relationships in the Sturnidae is the paucity of the fossil record for the family as a whole.

Subspecies
There are several subspecies of the common starling, which vary clinally in size and the colour tone of the adult plumage. The gradual variation over geographic range and extensive intergradation means that acceptance of the various subspecies varies between authorities.

Birds from Fair Isle, St. Kilda and the Outer Hebrides are intermediate in size between S. v. zetlandicus and the nominate form, and their subspecies placement varies according to the authority. The dark juveniles typical of these island forms are occasionally found in mainland Scotland and elsewhere, indicating some gene flow from faroensis or zetlandicus, subspecies formerly considered to be isolated.

Several other subspecies have been named, but are generally no longer considered valid. Most are intergrades that occur where the ranges of various subspecies meet. These include: S. v. ruthenus Menzbier, 1891 and S. v. jitkowi Buturlin, 1904, which are intergrades between vulgaris and poltaratskyi from western Russia; S. v. graecus Tschusi, 1905 and S. v. balcanicus Buturlin and Harms, 1909, which are intergrades between vulgaris and tauricus from the southern Balkans to central Ukraine and throughout Greece to the Bosporus; and S. v. heinrichi Stresemann, 1928, an intergrade between caucasicus and nobilior in northern Iran. S. v. persepolis Ticehurst, 1928 from southern Iran's (Fars Province) is very similar to vulgaris, and it is not clear whether it is a distinct resident population or simply migrants from southeastern Europe.

Description
The common starling is 19 – long, with a wingspan of 31 – and a weight of 58 –. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 11.8 to 13.8 cm, the tail is 5.8 to 6.8 cm, the culmen is 2.5 to 3.2 cm and the tarsus is 2.7 to 3.2 cm. The plumage is iridescent black, glossed purple or green, and spangled with white, especially in winter. The underparts of adult male common starlings are less spotted than those of adult females at a given time of year. The throat feathers of males are long and loose and are used in display while those of females are smaller and more pointed. The legs are stout and pinkish- or greyish-red. The bill is narrow and conical with a sharp tip; in the winter it is brownish-black but in summer, females have lemon yellow beaks with pink bases while males have yellow bills with blue-grey bases. Moulting occurs once a year- in late summer after the breeding season has finished; the fresh feathers are prominently tipped white (breast feathers) or buff (wing and back feathers), which gives the bird a speckled appearance. The reduction in the spotting in the breeding season is achieved through the white feather tips largely wearing off. Juveniles are grey-brown and by their first winter resemble adults though often retaining some brown juvenile feathering, especially on the head. They can usually be sexed by the colour of the irises, rich brown in males, mouse-brown or grey in females. Estimating the contrast between an iris and the central always-dark pupil is 97% accurate in determining sex, rising to 98% if the length of the throat feathers is also considered. The common starling is mid-sized by both starling standards and passerine standards. It is readily distinguished from other mid-sized passerines, such as thrushes, icterids or small corvids, by its relatively short tail, sharp, blade-like bill, round-bellied shape and strong, sizeable (and rufous-coloured) legs. In flight, its strongly pointed wings and dark colouration are distinctive, while on the ground its strange, somewhat waddling gait is also characteristic. The colouring and build usually distinguish this bird from other starlings, although the closely related spotless starling may be physically distinguished by the lack of iridescent spots in adult breeding plumage.

Like most terrestrial starlings the common starling moves by walking or running, rather than hopping. Their flight is quite strong and direct; their triangular wings beat very rapidly, and periodically the birds glide for a short way without losing much height before resuming powered flight. When in a flock, the birds take off almost simultaneously, wheel and turn in unison, form a compact mass or trail off into a wispy stream, bunch up again and land in a coordinated fashion. Common starling on migration can fly at 60 – and cover up to 1,000 –.

Several terrestrial starlings, including those in the genus Sturnus, have adaptations of the skull and muscles that help with feeding by probing. This adaptation is most strongly developed in the common starling (along with the spotless and white-cheeked starlings), where the protractor muscles responsible for opening the jaw are enlarged and the skull is narrow, allowing the eye to be moved forward to peer down the length of the bill. This technique involves inserting the bill into the ground and opening it as a way of searching for hidden food items. Common starlings have the physical traits that enable them to use this feeding technique, which has undoubtedly helped the species spread far and wide.

In Iberia, the western Mediterranean and northwest Africa, the common starling may be confused with the closely related spotless starling, the plumage of which, as its name implies, has a more uniform colour. At close range it can be seen that the latter has longer throat feathers, a fact particularly noticeable when it sings.

Vocalization

The common starling is noisy, its song consisting of a wide variety of both melodic and mechanical-sounding noises as part of a ritual succession of sounds. The male is the main songster and engages in bouts of song lasting for a minute or more. Each of these typically includes four varieties of song type, which follow each other in a regular order without pause. The bout starts with a series of pure-tone whistles and these are followed by the main part of the song, a number of variable sequences that often incorporate snatches of song mimicked from other species of bird and various naturally occurring or man-made noises. The structure and simplicity of the sound mimicked is of greater importance than the frequency with which it occurs. In some instances, a wild starling has been observed to mimic a sound it has heard only once. Each sound clip is repeated several times before the bird moves on to the next. After this variable section comes a number of types of repeated clicks followed by a final burst of high-frequency song, again formed of several types. Each bird has its own repertoire with more proficient birds having a range of up to 35 variable song types and as many as 14 types of clicks.

Males sing constantly as the breeding period approaches and perform less often once pairs have bonded. In the presence of a female, a male sometimes flies to his nest and sings from the entrance, apparently attempting to entice the female in. Older birds tend to have a wider repertoire than younger ones. Those males that engage in longer bouts of singing and that have wider repertoires attract mates earlier and have greater reproductive success than others. Females appear to prefer mates with more complex songs, perhaps because this indicates greater experience or longevity. Having a complex song is also useful in defending a territory and deterring less experienced males from encroaching.

Along with having adaptions of the skull and muscles for singing, male starlings also have a much larger syrinx than females. This is due to increased muscle mass and enlarged elements of the syringeal skeleton. The male starling's syrinx is around 35% larger than its female counterpart. However, this sexual dimorphism is less pronounced than it is in songbird species like the zebra finch, where the male's syrinx is 100% larger than the female's syrinx.

Singing also occurs outside the breeding season, taking place throughout the year apart from the moulting period. The songsters are more commonly male although females also sing on occasion. The function of such out-of-season song is poorly understood. Eleven other types of call have been described including a flock call, threat call, attack call, snarl call and copulation call. The alarm call is a harsh scream, and while foraging together common starlings squabble incessantly. They chatter while roosting and bathing, making a great deal of noise that can cause irritation to people living nearby. When a flock of common starlings is flying together, the synchronised movements of the birds' wings make a distinctive whooshing sound that can be heard hundreds of metres away.

Behaviour and ecology

The common starling is a highly gregarious species, especially in autumn and winter. Although flock size is highly variable, huge, noisy flocks (murmurations) may form near roosts. These dense concentrations of birds are thought to be a defence against attacks by birds of prey such as peregrine falcons or Eurasian sparrowhawks. Flocks form a tight sphere-like formation in flight, frequently expanding and contracting and changing shape, seemingly without any sort of leader. Each common starling changes its course and speed as a result of the movement of its closest neighbours.

Very large roosts, up to 1.5 million birds, form in city centres, woodlands and reedbeds, causing problems with their droppings. These may accumulate up to 30 cm deep, killing trees by their concentration of chemicals. In smaller amounts, the droppings act as a fertiliser, and therefore woodland managers may try to move roosts from one area of a wood to another to benefit from the soil enhancement and avoid large toxic deposits.

Flocks of more than a million common starlings may be observed just before sunset in spring in southwestern Jutland, Denmark, over the seaward marshlands of Tønder and Esbjerg municipalities between Tønder and Ribe. They gather in March until northern Scandinavian birds leave for their breeding ranges by mid-April. Their swarm behaviour creates complex shapes silhouetted against the sky, a phenomenon known locally as sort sol ("black sun"). Flocks of anything from five to fifty thousand common starlings form in areas of the UK just before sundown during mid-winter. These flocks are commonly called murmurations.

Feeding

The common starling is largely insectivorous and feeds on both pest and other arthropods. The food range includes spiders, crane flies, moths, mayflies, dragonflies, damsel flies, grasshoppers, earwigs, lacewings, caddisflies, flies, beetles, sawflies, bees, wasps and ants. Prey are consumed in both adult and larvae stages of development, and common starlings will also feed on earthworms, snails, small amphibians and lizards. While the consumption of invertebrates is necessary for successful breeding, common starlings are omnivorous and can also eat grains, seeds, fruits, nectar and food waste if the opportunity arises. The Sturnidae differ from most birds in that they cannot easily metabolise foods containing high levels of sucrose, although they can cope with other fruits such as grapes and cherries. The isolated Azores subspecies of the common starling eats the eggs of the endangered roseate tern. Measures are being introduced to reduce common starling populations by culling before the terns return to their breeding colonies in spring.

There are several methods by which common starlings obtain their food, but, for the most part, they forage close to the ground, taking insects from the surface or just underneath. Generally, common starlings prefer foraging amongst short-cropped grasses and eat with grazing animals or perch on their backs, where they will also feed on the mammal's external parasites. Large flocks may engage in a practice known as "roller-feeding", where the birds at the back of the flock continually fly to the front where the feeding opportunities are best. The larger the flock, the nearer individuals are to one another while foraging. Flocks often feed in one place for some time, and return to previous successfully foraged sites.

There are three types of foraging behaviours observed in the common starling. "Probing" involves the bird plunging its beak into the ground randomly and repetitively until an insect has been found, and is often accompanied by bill gaping where the bird opens its beak in the soil to enlarge a hole. This behaviour, first described by Konrad Lorenz and given the German term zirkeln, is also used to create and widen holes in plastic garbage bags. It takes time for young common starlings to perfect this technique, and because of this the diet of young birds will often contain fewer insects. "Hawking" is the capture of flying insects directly from the air, and "lunging" is the less common technique of striking forward to catch a moving invertebrate on the ground. Earthworms are caught by pulling from soil. Common starlings that have periods without access to food, or have a reduction in the hours of light available for feeding, compensate by increasing their body mass by the deposition of fat.

Nesting
Unpaired males find a suitable cavity and begin to build nests in order to attract single females, often decorating the nest with ornaments such as flowers and fresh green material, which the female later disassembles upon accepting him as a mate. The amount of green material is not important, as long as some is present, but the presence of herbs in the decorative material appears to be significant in attracting a mate. The scent of plants such as yarrow acts as an olfactory attractant to females.

The males sing throughout much of the construction and even more so when a female approaches his nest. Following copulation, the male and female continue to build the nest. Nests may be in any type of hole, common locations include inside hollowed trees, buildings, tree stumps and man-made nest-boxes. S. v. zetlandicus typically breeds in crevices and holes in cliffs, a habitat only rarely used by the nominate form. Nests are typically made out of straw, dry grass and twigs with an inner lining made up of feathers, wool and soft leaves. Construction usually takes four or five days and may continue through incubation.

Common starlings are both monogamous and polygamous; although broods are generally brought up by one male and one female, occasionally the pair may have an extra helper. Pairs may be part of a colony, in which case several other nests may occupy the same or nearby trees. Males may mate with a second female while the first is still on the nest. The reproductive success of the bird is poorer in the second nest than it is in the primary nest and is better when the male remains monogamous.

Breeding

Breeding takes place during the spring and summer. Following copulation, the female lays eggs on a daily basis over a period of several days. If an egg is lost during this time, she will lay another to replace it. There are normally four or five eggs that are ovoid in shape and pale blue or occasionally white, and they commonly have a glossy appearance. The colour of the eggs seems to have evolved through the relatively good visibility of blue at low light levels. The egg size is 26.5 – in length and 20.0 – in maximum diameter.

Incubation lasts thirteen days, although the last egg laid may take 24 hours longer than the first to hatch. Both parents share the responsibility of brooding the eggs, but the female spends more time incubating them than does the male, and is the only parent to do so at night when the male returns to the communal roost. A pair can raise up to three broods per year, frequently reusing and relining the same nest, although two broods is typical, or just one north of 48°N.

The young are born blind and naked. They develop light fluffy down within seven days of hatching and can see within nine days. As with other passerines, the nest is kept clean and the chicks' faecal sacs are removed by the adults. Once the chicks are able to regulate their body temperature, about six days after hatching, the adults largely cease removing droppings from the nest. Prior to that, the fouling would wet both the chicks' plumage and the nest material, thereby reducing their effectiveness as insulation and increasing the risk of chilling the hatchlings. Nestlings remain in the nest for three weeks, where they are fed continuously by both parents. Fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for another one or two weeks. Within two months, most juveniles will have moulted and gained their first basic plumage. They acquire their adult plumage the following year.

Intraspecific brood parasites are common in common starling nests. Female "floaters" (unpaired females during the breeding season) present in colonies often lay eggs in another pair's nest. Fledglings have also been reported to invade their own or neighbouring nests and evict a new brood. Common starling nests have a 48% to 79% rate of successful fledging, although only 20% of nestlings survive to breeding age; the adult survival rate is closer to 60%. The average life span is about 2–3 years, with a longevity record of 22 years 11 months.

Predators and parasites
A majority of starling predators are avian. The typical response of starling groups is to take flight, with a common sight being undulating flocks of starling flying high in quick and agile patterns. Their abilities in flight are seldom matched by birds of prey. Adult common starlings are hunted by hawks such as the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), and falcons including the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo) and common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). Slower raptors like black and red kites (Milvus migrans & milvus), eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca), common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and Australasian harrier (Circus approximans) tend to take the more easily caught fledglings or juveniles. While perched in groups by night, they can be vulnerable to owls, including the little owl (Athene noctua), long-eared owl (Asio otus), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), barn owl (Tyto alba), tawny owl (Strix aluco) and Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo).

More than twenty species of hawk, owl and falcon are known to occasionally predate starlings in North America, though the most regular predators of adults are likely to be urban-living peregrine falcons or merlins (Falco columbarius). Common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) sometimes evict eggs, nestlings and adult common starlings from their nests, and the lesser honeyguide (Indicator minor), a brood parasite, uses the common starling as a host. Starlings are more commonly the culprits rather than victims of nest eviction however, especially towards other starlings and woodpeckers. Nests can be raided by mammals capable of climbing to them, such as small mustelids (Mustela spp.), raccoons (Procyon lotor) and squirrels (Sciurus spp.), and cats may catch the unwary.

Common starlings are hosts to a wide range of parasites. A survey of three hundred common starlings from six US states found that all had at least one type of parasite; 99% had external fleas, mites or ticks, and 95% carried internal parasites, mostly various types of worm. Blood-sucking species leave their host when it dies, but other external parasites stay on the corpse. A bird with a deformed bill was heavily infested with Mallophaga lice, presumably due to its inability to remove vermin.

The hen flea (Ceratophyllus gallinae) is the most common flea in their nests. The small, pale house-sparrow flea C. fringillae, is also occasionally found there and probably arises from the habit of its main host of taking over the nests of other species. This flea does not occur in the US, even on house sparrows. Lice include Menacanthus eurystemus, Brueelia nebulosa and Stumidoecus sturni. Other arthropod parasites include Ixodes ticks and mites such as Analgopsis passerinus, Boydaia stumi, Dermanyssus gallinae, Ornithonyssus bursa, O. sylviarum, Proctophyllodes species, Pteronyssoides truncatus and Trouessartia rosteri. The hen mite D. gallinae is itself preyed upon by the predatory mite Androlaelaps casalis. The presence of this control on numbers of the parasitic species may explain why birds are prepared to reuse old nests.

Flying insects that parasitise common starlings include the louse-fly Omithomya nigricornis and the saprophagous fly Carnus hemapterus. The latter species breaks off the feathers of its host and lives on the fats produced by growing plumage. Larvae of the moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella are nest scavengers, which feed on animal material such as faeces or dead nestlings. Protozoan blood parasites of the genus Haemoproteus have been found in common starlings, but a better known pest is the brilliant scarlet nematode Syngamus trachea. This worm moves from the lungs to the trachea and may cause its host to suffocate. In Britain, the rook and the common starling are the most infested wild birds. Other recorded internal parasites include the spiny-headed worm Prosthorhynchus transverses.

Common starlings may contract avian tuberculosis, avian malaria and retrovirus-induced lymphomas. Captive starlings often accumulate excess iron in the liver, a condition that can be prevented by adding black tea-leaves to the food.

Distribution and habitat
The global population of common starlings was estimated to be 310 million individuals in 2004, occupying a total area of 8,870,000 km2. Widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the bird is native to Eurasia and is found throughout Europe, northern Africa (from Morocco to Egypt), India (mainly in the north but regularly extending farther south and extending into the Maldives ) Nepal, the Middle East including Israel, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, and northwestern China.

Common starlings in the south and west of Europe and south of latitude 40°N are mainly resident, although other populations migrate from regions where the winter is harsh, the ground frozen and food scarce. Large numbers of birds from northern Europe, Russia and Ukraine migrate south westwards or south eastwards. In the autumn, when immigrants are arriving from eastern Europe, many of Britain's common starlings are setting off for Iberia and North Africa. Other groups of birds are in passage across the country and the pathways of these different streams of bird may cross. Of the 15,000 birds ringed as nestlings in Merseyside, England, individuals have been recovered at various times of year as far afield as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and the Low Countries. Small numbers of common starlings have sporadically been observed in Japan and Hong Kong but it is unclear whence these birds originated. In North America, northern populations have developed a migration pattern, vacating much of Canada in winter. Birds in the east of the country move southwards, and those from farther west winter in the southwest of the US.

Common starlings prefer urban or suburban areas where artificial structures and trees provide adequate nesting and roosting sites. Reedbeds are also favoured for roosting and the birds commonly feed in grassy areas such as farmland, grazing pastures, playing fields, golf courses and airfields where short grass makes foraging easy. They occasionally inhabit open forests and woodlands and are sometimes found in shrubby areas such as Australian heathland. Common starlings rarely inhabit dense, wet forests (i.e. rainforests or wet sclerophyll forests) but are found in coastal areas, where they nest and roost on cliffs and forage amongst seaweed. Their ability to adapt to a large variety of habitats has allowed them to disperse and establish themselves in diverse locations around the world resulting in a habitat range from coastal wetlands to alpine forests, from sea cliffs to mountain ranges 1900 m above sea level.

Introduced populations
The common starling has been introduced to and has successfully established itself in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, North America, Fiji and several Caribbean islands. As a result, it has also been able to migrate to Thailand, Southeast Asia and New Guinea.

South America
Five individuals conveyed on a ship from England alighted near Lago de Maracaibo in Venezuela in November 1949, but subsequently vanished. In 1987, a small population of common starlings was observed nesting in gardens in the city of Buenos Aires. Since then, despite some initial attempts at eradication, the bird has been expanding its breeding range at an average rate of 7.5 km per year, keeping within 30 km of the Atlantic coast. In Argentina, the species makes use of a variety of natural and man-made nesting sites, particularly woodpecker holes.

Australia
The common starling was introduced to Australia to consume insect pests of farm crops. Early settlers looked forward to their arrival, believing that common starlings were also important for the pollination of flax, a major agricultural product. Nest-boxes for the newly released birds were placed on farms and near crops. The common starling was introduced to Melbourne in 1857 and Sydney two decades later. By the 1880s, established populations were present in the southeast of the country thanks to the work of acclimatisation committees. By the 1920s, common starlings were widespread throughout Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, but by then they were considered to be pests. Although common starlings were first sighted in Albany, Western Australia in 1917, they have been largely prevented from spreading to the state. The wide and arid Nullarbor Plain provides a natural barrier and control measures have been adopted that have killed 55,000 birds over three decades. The common starling has also colonised Kangaroo Island, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Tasmania.

New Zealand
The early settlers in New Zealand cleared the bush and found their newly planted crops were invaded by hordes of caterpillars and other insects deprived of their previous food sources. Native birds were not habituated to living in close proximity to man so the common starling was introduced from Europe along with the house sparrow to control the pests. It was first brought over in 1862 by the Nelson Acclimatisation Society and other introductions followed. The birds soon became established and are now found all over the country including the subtropical Kermadec Islands to the north and the equally distant Macquarie Island far to the south.

North America

Various acclimatisation society records mention instances of starlings being introduced in Cincinnati, Quebec and New York in the 1870s. As part of a nationwide effort, about 60 common starlings were released in 1890 into New York's Central Park by Eugene Schieffelin, president of the American Acclimatization Society. It has been widely reported that he had tried to introduce every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare into North America, but this claim has been traced to an essay in 1948 by naturalist Edwin Way Teale, whose notes appear to indicate that it was speculation. About the same date, the Portland Song Bird Club released 35 pairs of common starlings in Portland, Oregon. Earlier introductions are recorded to have died out within a few years, with the 1890 New York and Portland introductions reported as being the most successful. Population of the birds is estimated to have grown to 150 million, occupying an area extending from southern Canada and Alaska to Central America.

Polynesia
The common starling appears to have arrived in Fiji in 1925 on Ono-i-lau and Vatoa islands. It may have colonised from New Zealand via Raoul in the Kermadec Islands where it is abundant, that group being roughly equidistant between New Zealand and Fiji. Its spread in Fiji has been limited, and there are doubts about the population's viability. Tonga was colonised at about the same date and the birds there have been slowly spreading north through the group.

South Africa
In South Africa, the common starling was introduced in 1897 by Cecil Rhodes. It spread slowly, and by 1954, had reached Clanwilliam and Port Elizabeth. It is now common in the southern Cape region, thinning out northwards to the Johannesburg area. It is present in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Free State provinces of South Africa and lowland Lesotho, with occasional sightings in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and around the town of Oranjemund in Namibia. In Southern Africa populations appear to be resident and the bird is strongly associated with man and anthropogenic habitats. It favours irrigated land and is absent from regions where the ground is baked so dry that it cannot probe for insects. It may compete with native birds for crevice nesting sites, but the indigenous species are probably more disadvantaged by destruction of their natural habitat than they are by inter-specific competition. It breeds from September to December and outside the breeding season may congregate in large flocks, often roosting in reedbeds. It is the most common bird species in urban and agricultural areas.

West Indies
In 1901, the inhabitants of Saint Kitts petitioned the Colonial Secretary for a ″government grant of starlings to exterminate″ an outbreak of grasshoppers which was causing enormous damage to their crops. The common starling was introduced to Jamaica in 1903, and the Bahamas and Cuba were colonised naturally from the US. This bird is fairly common but local in Jamaica, Grand Bahama and Bimini, and is rare in the rest of the Bahamas and eastern Cuba.

Status
The global population of the common starling is estimated to be more than 310 million individuals and its numbers are not thought to be declining significantly, so the bird is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern. It had shown a marked increase in numbers throughout Europe from the 19th century to around the 1950s and 60s. In about 1830, S. v. vulgaris expanded its range in the British Isles, spreading into Ireland and areas of Scotland where it had formerly been absent, although S. v. zetlandicus was already present in Shetland and the Outer Hebrides. The common starling has bred in northern Sweden from 1850 and in Iceland from 1935. The breeding range spread through southern France to northeastern Spain, and there were other range expansions particularly in Italy, Austria and Finland. It started breeding in Iberia in 1960, while the spotless starling's range had been expanding northward since the 1950s. The low rate of advance, about 4.7 km per year for both species, is due to the suboptimal mountain and woodland terrain. Expansion has since slowed even further due to direct competition between the two similar species where they overlap in southwestern France and northwestern Spain.

Major declines in populations have been observed from 1980 onward in Sweden, Finland, northern Russia (Karelia) and the Baltic States, and smaller declines in much of the rest of northern and central Europe. The bird has been adversely affected in these areas by intensive agriculture, and in several countries it has been red-listed due to population declines of more than 50%. Numbers dwindled in the United Kingdom by more than 80% between 1966 and 2004; although populations in some areas such as Northern Ireland were stable or even increased, those in other areas, mainly England, declined even more sharply. The overall decline seems to be due to the low survival rate of young birds, which may be caused by changes in agricultural practices. The intensive farming methods used in northern Europe mean there is less pasture and meadow habitat available, and the supply of grassland invertebrates needed for the nestlings to thrive is correspondingly reduced.

Benefits and problems
Since common starlings eat insect pests such as wireworms, they are considered beneficial in northern Eurasia, and this was one of the reasons given for introducing the birds elsewhere. Around 25 million nest boxes were erected for this species in the former Soviet Union, and common starlings were found to be effective in controlling the grass grub Costelytra zealandica in New Zealand. The original Australian introduction was facilitated by the provision of nest boxes to help this mainly insectivorous bird to breed successfully, and even in the US, where this is a pest species, the Department of Agriculture acknowledges that vast numbers of insects are consumed by common starlings.

Common starlings introduced to areas such as Australia or North America, where other members of the genus are absent, may affect native species through competition for nest holes. In North America, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, purple martins and other swallows may be affected. In Australia, competitors for nesting sites include the crimson and eastern rosellas. For its role in the decline of local native species and the damages to agriculture, the common starling has been included in the IUCN List of the world's 100 worst invasive species.

European, or common, starlings are habitat generalists meaning they are able to exploit a multitude of habitats, nest sites and food sources. This, coupled with them being lowland birds that easily coexist with humans, enables them to take advantage of other native birds, most particularly woodpecker. European starlings are considered aggressive omnivores that utilize an open-bill probing technique that gives them an evolutionary advantage over birds that are frugivores. Their aggressive and gregarious behaviour in terms of food thus allows them to outcompete native species. Common starlings are also aggressive in the creation of their nest cavities. Often, starlings will usurp a nest site, for example a tree hollow, and fill it rapidly with bedding and contaminants compared to other species, like the native parrots, that use little to no bedding. As cavity nesters, they are able to outcompete many native species in terms of habitat and nest sites.

Common starlings can eat and damage fruit in orchards such as grapes, peaches, olives, currants and tomatoes or dig up newly sown grain and sprouting crops. They may also eat animal feed and distribute seeds through their droppings. In eastern Australia, weeds like bridal creeper, blackberry and boneseed are thought to have been spread by common starlings. Agricultural damage in the US is estimated as costing about US$800million annually. This bird is not considered to be as damaging to agriculture in South Africa as it is in the United States.

Common starlings take advantage of agricultural fields, livestock facilities, and other human related sources of food and nest sites. Starlings often assault crops such as grapes, olives, and cherries by consuming excessive amounts of crops in large flock sizes and in new grain fields, starlings pull up young plants and eat the seeds. In caged trials, it was shown that starlings eat 7–23 g of animal food daily and 20–40 g of plant food meaning a decent portion of crops are consumed by these birds. Bird damage to grapes in 1968 cost upwards to $4.4million while losing almost 17% of the crops. Common starlings also often congregate at feeding troughs to eat grain and concurrently contaminate the food and water sources provided for livestock with their droppings. For example, high protein supplements added to cattle feed are selectively eaten by common starlings. In 1968, the cost of cattle rations consumed during winter by starlings was $84 per 1,000 starlings and is proposed to be much more expensive today given an increase in current cattle feed costs. The English or house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the common starling are considerable agricultural pests, together causing an estimated US$1billion per year in crop damages.

The large size of flocks can also cause problems. Common starlings may be sucked into aircraft jet engines, one of the worst instances of this being an incident in Boston in 1960, when sixty-two people died after a turboprop airliner flew into a flock and plummeted into the sea at Winthrop Harbor. The large roosts of the common starling pose many safety hazards for aircraft, mainly including the clogging of engines that concurrently shutdown the plane into descent. From the years 1990–2001, 852 incidents of aircraft hazard due to starlings and blackbirds were reported with 39 strikes causing major damage that cost a total of $1,607,317.

Starlings' droppings can contain the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, the cause of histoplasmosis in humans. At roosting sites this fungus can thrive in accumulated droppings. There are a number of other infectious diseases that can potentially be transmitted by common starlings to humans, although the potential for the birds to spread infections may have been exaggerated. The spread of disease to livestock is also a concern, possibly more important than starling's effects on food consumption or transmission of disease to humans. The spreading of Histoplasmosis reported in a Nebraska manufacturing facility saw a loss of 10,000 pigs from the spread of the disease which was valued at $1million loss in 2014.

Control
Due to the impact of starlings on crop production, there have been attempts to control the numbers of both native and introduced populations of common starlings. Within the natural breeding range, this may be affected by legislation. For example, in Spain, the species is hunted commercially as a food item, and has a closed season, whereas in France, it is classed as a pest, and the season in which it may be killed covers the greater part of the year. In Great Britain, starlings are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it "illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take a starling, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents". The Wildlife Order in Northern Ireland allows, with a general licence, "an authorised person to control starlings to prevent serious damage to agriculture or preserve public health and safety". The species is migratory, so birds involved in control measures may have come from a wide area and breeding populations may not be greatly affected. In Europe, the varying legislation and mobile populations mean that control attempts may have limited long-term results. Non-lethal techniques such as scaring with visual or auditory devices have only a temporary effect in any case.

Huge urban roosts in cities can create problems due to the noise and mess made and the smell of the droppings. In 1949, so many birds landed on the clock hands of London's Big Ben that it stopped, leading to unsuccessful attempts to disrupt the roosts with netting, repellent chemical on the ledges and broadcasts of common starling alarm calls. An entire episode of The Goon Show in 1954 was a parody of the futile efforts to disrupt the large common starling roosts in central London.

Where it is introduced, the common starling is unprotected by legislation, and extensive control plans may be initiated. Common starlings can be prevented from using nest boxes by ensuring that the access holes are smaller than the 1.5 in diameter they need, and the removal of perches discourages them from visiting bird feeders.

Western Australia banned the import of common starlings in 1895. New flocks arriving from the east are routinely shot, while the less cautious juveniles are trapped and netted. New methods are being developed, such as tagging one bird and tracking it back to establish where other members of the flock roost. Another technique is to analyse the DNA of Australian common starling populations to track where the migration from eastern to western Australia is occurring so that better preventive strategies can be used. By 2009, only 300 common starlings were left in Western Australia, and the state committed a further A$400,000 in that year to continue the eradication programme.

In the United States, common starlings are exempt from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits the taking or killing of migratory birds. No permit is required to remove nests and eggs or kill juveniles or adults. Research was undertaken in 1966 to identify a suitable avicide that would both kill common starlings and would readily be eaten by them. It also needed to be of low toxicity to mammals and not likely to cause the death of pets that ate dead birds. The chemical that best fitted these criteria was DRC-1339, now marketed as Starlicide. In 2008, the United States government poisoned, shot or trapped 1.7million birds, the largest number of any nuisance species to be culled. In 2005, the population in the United States was estimated at 140million birds, around 45% of the global total of 310million.

The likelihood of starlings to damage the feeding operations is dependent on the number of livestock, favoring areas with more livestock. They also show preference for feed types which were not whole corn but smaller feeds, creating more damage in areas where the feed was smaller. They also showed feed preference based on composition. A proposed solution to this problem is use of less palatable feed by agriculturalists, perhaps relying on larger feed types or feed which is less favorable in composition to starlings. An additional solution for mitigation control involves ensuring that livestock feeding operations are not within close proximity of each other or starling roosts. Weather conditions also had an impact on whether starlings visited livestock feeding operations, with a higher likelihood to visit in colder temperatures or following snow storms.

Alternatives to managing starling populations in agricultural areas include the use of starlicide. Use of starlicide has been found to reduce the spread of Salmonella enterica in livestock and other diseases found among livestock. Though this does not appear to eliminate introduction of these diseases completely, it has been determined that they are contributors and starling control is a successful mitigation strategy.

In science and culture

Common starlings may be kept as pets or as laboratory animals. Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz wrote of them in his book King Solomon's Ring as "the poor man's dog" and "something to love", because nestlings are easily obtained from the wild and after careful hand rearing they are straightforward to look after. They adapt well to captivity, and thrive on a diet of standard bird feed and mealworms. Several birds may be kept in the same cage, and their inquisitiveness makes them easy to train or study. The only disadvantages are their messy and indiscriminate defecation habits and the need to take precautions against diseases that may be transmitted to humans. As a laboratory bird, the common starling is second in numbers only to the domestic pigeon.

The common starling's gift for mimicry has long been recognised. In the medieval Welsh Mabinogion, Branwen tamed a common starling, "taught it words", and sent it across the Irish Sea with a message to her brothers, Bran and Manawydan, who then sailed from Wales to Ireland to rescue her. Pliny the Elder claimed that these birds could be taught to speak whole sentences in Latin and Greek, and in Henry IV, William Shakespeare had Hotspur declare "The king forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer. But I will find him when he is asleep, and in his ear I'll holler 'Mortimer!' Nay I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep his anger still in motion."

Mozart had a pet common starling which could sing part of his Piano Concerto in G Major (KV. 453). He had bought it from a shop after hearing it sing a phrase from a work he wrote six weeks previously, which had not yet been performed in public. He became very attached to the bird and arranged an elaborate funeral for it when it died three years later. It has been suggested that his A Musical Joke (K. 522) might be written in the comical, inconsequential style of a starling's vocalisation. Other people who have owned common starlings report how adept they are at picking up phrases and expressions. The words have no meaning for the starling, so they often mix them up or use them on what to humans are inappropriate occasions in their songs. Their ability at mimicry is so great that strangers have looked in vain for the human they think they have just heard speak.

Common starlings are trapped for food in some Arab countries. The meat is tough and of low quality, so it is casseroled or made into pâté. One recipe said it should be stewed "until tender, however long that may be". Even when correctly prepared, it may still be seen as an acquired taste.

Cited texts

 * Translated by Murtha Baca and Stephen Sartarelli from Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene, first published in 1891.
 * Translated by Murtha Baca and Stephen Sartarelli from Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene, first published in 1891.

title: Common starling