tak-kamerad

liquidnight:

Julianna Swaney

Central Park, March 6, 1890

It was on this date that Mr. Eugene Schieffelin released 60 European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) into Central Park. Although there is no direct evidence to support the notion, many people believe he was motivated by the desire to enable New Yorkers to see the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. He also tried unsuccessfully to introduce bullfinches, chaffinches, nightingales, and skylarks. Meanwhile those 60 starlings were so wildly successful in their new habitat that they have since spread throughout the nation where their number has increased to 200 million. They have had a terribly negative impact on various native species with whom they compete for nesting territory. But it really was a beautiful idea…