STARLING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does starling mean? 

• STARLING (noun)
  The noun STARLING has 1 sense:

1. gregarious birds native to the Old World

  Familiarity information: STARLING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STARLING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Gregarious birds native to the Old World

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("starling" is a kind of...):

oscine; oscine bird (passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "starling"):

common starling; Sturnus vulgaris (gregarious bird having plumage with dark metallic gloss; builds nests around dwellings and other structures; naturalized worldwide)

Pastor roseus; Pastor sturnus; rose-colored pastor; rose-colored starling (glossy black bird with pink back and abdomen; chiefly Asian)

mina; minah; myna; myna bird; mynah; mynah bird (tropical Asian starlings)

Holonyms ("starling" is a member of...):

family Sturnidae; Sturnidae (Old World starlings)

 Context examples 

'I cannot get out,' as the starling said.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Kestrels consume crop pests such as grasshoppers, rodents and European starlings.

(American kestrels, most common predatory birds in U.S., can reduce need for pesticide use, National Science Foundation)