Youngsters
get to know the young hero and the adventures
that carry him toward manhood. As they come to know Jeremiah as a friend who would
understand their own growing pains, they look forward to each book in the
series.
Teachers
will Achieve..
Teachers will appreciate the ways
that Jeremiah Stokely novels, kits, and activities make literature
meaningful to children. Teachers can download free classroom idea
packets to hold a hand-on workshop based on each book.
Click the >Play button
to listen to the bird's song!
European
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Length 8½ in., wingspan 16
in., Family Sturnidae
Starlings are everyone’s least
favorite bird, but it’s not their fault. All the European Starlings in North
America today are descendants of 100 birds released in New York City’s
Central Park in 1890. It seemed like a good idea at the time. They are
numerous, not only in the U.S., but in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
and some West Indian islands. Extremely adaptive and successful in raising
young, they often flock by the thousands and become pests. Latin “vulgaris”
means “common.”
Male and female plumage is
nearly identical, iridescent green and purple. Juveniles are mousy brown at
first, but in fall they molt into shiny adult-like feathers with large white
spots at the tips of all their body feathers.
Starlings are omnivorous feeders
– they eat everything. They nest in holes in trees or take over the nests of
other birds, such as bluebirds and woodpeckers, driving off the original
inhabitants. They are city dwellers, too, roosting and nesting on buildings.
The young that hatch from their five pale blue-green eggs are cared for by
both parents.
Starlings are relatives of
mynas, mimic birds from Asia that have small populations in Florida,
California and Canada. The common starling has a noisy repertoire of
squeaks, whistles, and imitations of other birds or even barking dogs. In a
crowd, they make quite an uproar.
Needless to say, starlings are
nobody’s state bird.
