Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Least Concern (Non-breeding) / Vulnerable (Breeding) [LC(nbr) VU(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | Sturnus vulgaris subsp. vulgaris |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Sturnus vulgaris |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | in s41 as Sturnus vulgaris subsp. vulgaris |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Long term significant decline Eng BBS (25 yr -62%, 10 yr -11%). |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Research needed into causes of decline. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Provision of short sward grassland in arable habitats. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Research causes of low adult and juvenile survival outside the breeding season.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Provide nest box resource in areas where natural nest sites are limited and suitable foraging habitats are available.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Other (specify in comments)
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Ensure that new developments are providing and meeting the habitat requirements for Starlings. For example providing mixed grass swards including areas short mown amenity grassland and provisioning a variety of trees and shrubs to fruit over a protracted period from early summer through to winter. In addition nest boxes on mature trees in green spaces and gardens.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat Creation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.