{"product_id":"starlings-the-curious-odyssey-of-a-most-hated-bird-paperback","title":"Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMike Stark\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHas there ever been a more hated bird than the European starling? Let loose in New York City's Central Park by a misguided aristocrat, the starlings were supposed to help curb insect outbreaks and add to the tuneful choir of other songbirds. Rather than staying put, the dark and speckled starlings marched across the continent like a conquering army. In less than sixty years, they were in every state in the contiguous United States and their numbers topped two hundred million. Cities came under siege; crops buckled beneath their weight. Public sentiment quickly soured. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A bitter, baffling, and sometimes comical war on starlings ensued. Weapons included dynamite, guns, bounties, fake owls, real owls, rubber snakes, balloons, itching powder, and greased building ledges. Still, artists and scientists marveled at their undulating aerial formations, which seemed equal parts poetry and mathematics. Keen listeners recognized the starling as one of the world's great vocal mimics, imitating everything from fellow birds and cell phones to barking dogs, car alarms, and TV commercials. And then there were their undeniable skills of adaptation and survival. What if there was more to these stubborn villains than once thought? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mike Stark's \u003ci\u003eStarlings\u003c\/i\u003e is a first-of-its-kind history of starlings in America, an oddball, love-hate story at the intersection of human folly, ornithology, and one bird's tenacious will to endure. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMike Stark\u003c\/b\u003e is a longtime journalist and author. His previous nonfiction books include the award-winning \u003ci\u003eChasing the Ghost Bear: On the Trail of America's Lost Super Beast\u003c\/i\u003e (Bison Books, 2022) and \u003ci\u003eWrecked in Yellowstone: Greed, Obsession, and the Untold Story of Yellowstone's Most Infamous Shipwreck\u003c\/i\u003e. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Derelict Light\u003c\/i\u003e (Bison Books), was published in 2023. He is the creative director for the Center for Biological Diversity and lives in Tucson, Arizona. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.65 x 8.89 x 6.18 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 01, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978176201005,"sku":"9781496242020","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/aJI9PAc65P9781496242020.webp?v=1775800845","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/starlings-the-curious-odyssey-of-a-most-hated-bird-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}