Feathered Europeans

     Though not liked by every American citizen, rock pigeons, house sparrows and starlings are feathered Europeans that have been introduced to the United States and became successful in this country, including here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  They have adapted to and are abundant in human-made farmland, farm yards and cities in America, as in Europe.  They prosper where most native bird species won't even venture, each species forming flocks after their breeding seasons.  And whether we like them or not, these immigrants are here to stay.   
     Pigeons originally nested on rocky cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea and fed on weed seeds in open, sunny habitats.  They were domesticated first as meat and egg birds in Europe, but soon became popular as racing and show birds.
     Wild pigeons are pretty without genetic engineering by people.  They are gray all over with red feet and a purple or green sheen on the feathers of their necks.  And many of them have two dark, vertical bars on each wing.  In the fields and barns through the warmer months, the handsome males dance and coo softly to their mates to get them in the mood for mating.     
     Some pigeons escaped from captivity in the United States, as they have all over the world.  Here in Lancaster County they nest on support beams in barns and under bridges, raising several broods of two young each from March to September.  Their favorite place to roost during the day, however, is on the tops of silos, the highest objects in local farmland.  There little groups of them can watch for passing peregrine falcons, Cooper's hawks and other passing predatory birds.
     Pigeons feed on weed seeds and grain missed by automatic harvesters in fields.  They walk about, bobbing their heads with each step, and picking up grain here and there.  They feed their young in the nest a porridge of a liquid manufactured in their throats called "pigeon's milk" and half-digested seeds and grain.  The offspring put their beaks into the bill of their mother or father and the parent regurgitates that porridge by a pumping action in its throat.
     House sparrows are pretty little birds in a plain way.  Females are brown all over with darker streaking for camouflage.  Males resemble females in winter, but have black bibs, chestnut wings and gray crowns during warmer months, their breeding season. 
     House sparrows are also seed eaters, mostly of grasses and a variety of "weeds" they find in fields and along roadsides.  These adaptable birds also eat grain out of animal feed troughs, bird feeders and horse manure on the roads.    
     House sparrows nest in any crevice they find on buildings and in bird boxes.  They often aggressively put native birds out of bird houses to use those shelters themselves.  But these little birds are abundant where no other kinds of birds are, offering a bit of nature where otherwise they may be none.
     Starlings are about the size of robins, but a bit chunkier.  In spring they are attractive with iridescent purple feathering and yellow beaks.  Males sing a variety of squeaky songs in conspicuous places while waving their wings.  They raise babies anyplace they can usurp, including woodpecker holes and other hollows in trees and fence posts, bird houses big enough to accommodate them, and holes in buildings, street lights and other handy, human-made shelters.  They, too, drive native birds out of their nesting places when they can.
     Fledgling starlings are brown in summer, but turn dark with many light speckles by fall, which is also the appearance of the adults at that time.  Large flocks of starlings roam the countryside looking for anything edible they can handle.  They eat grain in fields, raid bird feeders and eat out of dumpsters and parking lots. 
     In summer, starlings catch insects from the air like flycatcher birds, poke their sharp, sturdy beaks in the grass and soil of lawns and fields after invertebrates like sandpipers probing in mud after the same foods, eat a variety of berries like robins and waxwings, and scavenge dead animals, as do vultures and crows.  Sometimes I think the adaptable starlings could fill every niche that becomes available to them because of the extinction of other bird species.  They could fill every role.
     At dusk, in winter, great flocks of starlings swirl and circle in the air over the stands of coniferous trees they intend to roost in overnight.  For several minutes each winter evening, the whirling gatherings of starlings make figures in the sky.  One can hear the snap of thousands of beating wings when the birds abruptly change directions.  Finally, bit by bit, as the congregation repeatedly passes over the conifers, the birds, several at a time, enter the trees' needled boughs where they will be sheltered from cold wind and predators during each night.  And just before dark, all are snug among the needled limbs.     
     Try to enjoy the beauties and intrigues of these feathered Europeans.  They occupy niches most native birds won't venture into.