This flock of European Starlings only paused in the field long enough to grab a quick snack before swirling up to nearby power lines to perch together. When I see starlings, I think “Australian” instead of “European”. These speckled creatures remind me of Aboriginal bird paintings where dots form the pictures against dark backgrounds.

Would you ever think of “Shakespeare” and “starlings” together? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology explains that:

“All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds set loose in New York’s Central Park in the early 1890s. The birds were intentionally released by a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare ever mentioned. It took several tries, but eventually the population took off. Today, more than 200 million European Starlings range from Alaska to Mexico, and many people consider them pests. “