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• starling
  starling

  noun

  a chunky, medium-sized European passerine bird, Sturnus vulgaris, of iridescent black plumage with seasonal speckles, that nests in colonies: introduced into North America.
• Starling
  Starling

  noun

  Ernest Henry . 1866–1927, British physiologist, who contributed greatly to the understanding of many bodily functions and with William Bayliss (1860–1924) discovered the hormone secretin (1902)

starling

¹ American  

[stahr-ling] / ˈstɑr lɪŋ /

noun

1. a chunky, medium-sized European passerine bird, Sturnus vulgaris, of iridescent black plumage with seasonal speckles, that nests in colonies: introduced into North America.

2. any of various similar Old World birds of the family Sturnidae.

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starling ² American  

[stahr-ling] / ˈstɑr lɪŋ /

noun

1. a pointed cluster of pilings for protecting a bridge pier from drifting ice, debris, etc.

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Starling ¹ British  

/ ˈstɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. Ernest Henry . 1866–1927, British physiologist, who contributed greatly to the understanding of many bodily functions and with William Bayliss (1860–1924) discovered the hormone secretin (1902)

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starling ² British  

/ ˈstɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. any gregarious passerine songbird of the Old World family Sturnidae , esp Sturnus vulgaris , which has a blackish plumage and a short tail

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starling ³ British  

/ ˈstɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. an arrangement of piles that surround a pier of a bridge to protect it from debris, etc

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Etymology

Origin of starling¹

before 1050; Middle English; Old English stærling, equivalent to stær starling (cognate with Old High German stara, Old Norse stari ) + -ling -ling ¹; akin to Old English stearn kind of bird, Latin sturnus starling

Origin of starling²

First recorded in 1675–85; origin uncertain

Explanation

A starling is a small, dark, glossy bird that's usually found in a group with other starlings. Many starlings are able to mimic sounds such as car alarms. Aside from the hottest, driest deserts, you can find starlings just about everywhere on earth. When large groups of these sociable birds move in formation together, forming graceful, shifting cloud shapes in the sky, it's called a "murmuration." Starlings are also known for their ability to imitate the calls of other birds, as well as human-made sounds, including whistles, crying children, and car horns.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

starling Starling

One of the birds was a mourning dove and the other a European starling.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025

Royall continues: "These include schools of other fish such as goldfish or sardines, as well as flocks of birds such as starling murmurations and swarms of insects such as dancing mosquitos."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024

But the starling has not been so fortunate.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2024

On a recent Thursday afternoon, the actress Keri Russell paused in a corner of Brooklyn Bridge Park to admire a starling.

From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2023

Milkman did not speak; he watched her long fingers travel up her dress, to rest like the wing of a starling on her face.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

On her drive back, Starling plans to fill up the back of her car with coolers, and “I’ll get like three frozen Key lime pies to bring with me home.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

That computer, named Starling, is being targeted for 2029.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

In the fall, Starling caught 56 passes for 1,158 yards and 14 touchdowns as a receiver.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

The top three birds in Kent and West Sussex were the house sparrow, blue tit and Starling, while in East Sussex they were the house sparrow, blue tit and wood pigeon.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

I’d heard most of them before—band camp stories and Ben Starling stories and first kiss stories—but Lacey hadn’t heard any of them, and anyway, they were still entertaining.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green