Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans - Sandra Kynes 2016
Starling: European Starling
The Profiles
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
The starling’s common name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name for this bird, staer, which means “little star.” 147 It is thought that the starling was so named either because of its star-shaped silhouette in flight or because of its speckled, starry-like winter plumage.
Starlings are not native to North America. In the early 1890s, one hundred of them were imported and released in New York City’s Central Park by Shakespeare enthusiasts who thought that all of the birds mentioned by the great bard should live in the New World.148 Being adaptable birds, starlings rapidly increased their numbers and came to be considered pests. Back in England on August 12, 1949, so many roosted on the hands of Big Ben that they managed to stop the clock.149
The starling’s nearest relatives, the mynah birds, are well known for imitating human speech. Like its cousin, the starling can mimic humans, dogs, and even car sounds. They can also imitate the songs of up to twenty different birds. Pliny noted that he knew of one such talented starling that spoke both Latin and Greek. Mozart kept a starling as a pet and trained it to whistle parts of his compositions.
The Gaelic name for starling is druid. They are also called druid-bhreac, “speckled druid”; druideag, “little druid”; and black star.150 In Celtic legend, Branwen rescued a starling from the clutches of the kitchen cat and taught it to speak. She also used it like a pigeon to carry messages to her brother Bran.
According to folklore in regions where starlings migrate, if they arrive in their winter areas early, the season will be severe. Starlings are strong fliers, reaching up to forty-eight miles an hour. They are also very noisy. These birds travel in large groups that often include blackbirds and grackles. Although a very common bird, starlings are masters of aerobatic displays. When I was a child, I enjoyed watching an enormous flock of starlings as they wheeled in unison over the woods behind our house. The evening display of flowing patterns seemed to ebb and flow like ocean waves.
Magical Workings
Starling is a master of adaptation and a model for developing new skills. While it can be called upon when aggression is needed, starling shows us that confrontational situations are best handled through peaceful negotiation. Call on starling for guidance in such situations.
Starling is a bird of empowerment that fosters confidence and a sense of worth. Ask for starling’s inspiration to help stoke the embers of your imagination. Also, place a picture of it in your work area to help stoke your creative expression. In addition, this bird helps to foster communication that strengthens relationships and draws community together.
Make Connection
To connect with starling energy, go outside on a clear night and gaze at the stars. Use your imagination to see the stars as the speckled plumage of starlings and visualize their shapes moving against the night sky. As you begin to pick out more starlings among the stars, imagine them moving in great morphing shapes back and forth across the sky. Feel the flow of their flight and their connection with each other as you recite three times: “Birds of the stars, dark as night, may I join you in your flight.” When they deem you ready, you will feel yourself draw into their murmuration (group).
Associations
Element(s): Air
Ogham: Tinne
Bird Identification
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Size: 8 to 9 inches
Wingspan: 12 to 15½ inches
Comparative size: Robin
Description: Stocky body; short tail; long and slender yellow beak; short, triangular wings; appears black all over at a distance but is purplish-green iridescent in summer, brown with white spots in winter
Range: From a small area of southwestern Alaska, across most of Canada, and south throughout the United States, and parts of northern Mexico
Habitat: Cities, suburban areas, farmlands, and ranches
Eggs: Bluish or greenish white
Collective noun(s): A chattering, a cloud, a filth, a murmuration, or a roost of starlings
147. Erickson, For the Birds, 141.
148. Leslie Day, Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), 228.
149. Wells, 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names, 236.
150. Alexander Robert Forbes, Gaelic Names of Beasts (Mammalia), Birds, Fishes, Insects, Reptiles, Etc. (Edinburgh, Scotland: Oliver and Boyd, 1905), 335.