European Starling

This is another in a series of bird portraits.  There are more than 200 million starlings in North America, all of which are descended from 100 birds released in New York City's Central Park in 1890-91.   50 of the 200 million arrived in my backyard this morning and a couple of them climbed the bird feeder. They were not interested in sunflower seeds however, and the group scavenged through the lawn and mulch instead.

Winter nonbreeding plumage shows white tips on the feathers. A starling's iridescent purple and green feathers are attractive, and show much better when lit by sunshine.

Set out a couple suet cakes temporarily tied under a metal basket until I buy a suet cage. I know the starlings will like suet, and I'm hoping for an expanded variety of birds. As the basket is on the deck rail it could be subject to squirrels, raccoons, and other critters.

Natural light, cloudy day, relatively high ISO 2000.