Rethinking the “Trash Bird”: A Shift in Perspective from the Field
Recently, I was doing a program when someone asked me, “What’s your least favorite bird?”
The question caught me off guard. Not because it’s uncommon. Plenty of birds are considered pests around the world. What surprised me was that I didn’t have an answer.
A younger version of myself might have said European Starling, or some other introduced species. But over time, the way I think about that has shifted. With human-caused ecological damage driving bird declines across the world, every bird starts to feel like a win. If I could go back and prevent certain introductions, I would. I’d rather have native woodpeckers than European Starlings in my backyard. No question.
In Defense Of Trash Birds
But starlings are remarkable birds. I’ve never looked at one and felt anything close to hate. In fact, I kind of love them.
Once you get into birding, you start to hear how some birders talk about certain species. It comes up in conversation more than you’d expect. They call them “trash birds.” And wherever you go, there are almost always a few that carry that label. Often they’re introduced, and usually among the most conspicuous birds in the area.
Lessons From The Field
Back when I was trapping and banding raptors, we sometimes used starlings as lure birds. Farmers would give them to us after catching them to prevent crop damage. We’d fit the birds with a leather harness, tying the straps down with string in tight double knots, then set them out to draw in hawks.
It was a frequent occurrence to pull the control cord and find an empty harness dangling from the line, the starling having freed itself. They were incredibly smart. And by the end of the day, we’d often find them waiting by their cage, hoping to rejoin their friends for dinner.
If you’ve never heard starlings mimic other birds, it is remarkable. They can learn many sounds, including perfectly mimicking human speech. (Listen for R2D2 from Star Wars and phrases from Mozart’s The Magic Flute.) Watching a large murmuration of starlings is one of the most beautiful aerial spectacles on the planet. (Bonus: a Peregrine Falcon is visible flying from center to right between 52 and 58 seconds in the video.)
A Story Leading Back to Us
When you start to look more closely at these “trash birds,” you realize how closely their ecological impact is tied to us. We brought them with us, or created the kinds of places where they could thrive. Birds like European Starlings, House Sparrows, Eurasian Collared-Doves, and House Finches have expanded their ranges through direct introductions or by adapting to the landscapes we’ve shaped into farms, towns, and cities.
It is a bit like the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” That is exactly what we have done.
If we start to think of the natural world and the human world as connected, tied to each other’s outcomes, it shifts the lens through which we view those worlds. It becomes less about categories and more about how we choose to shape the places we live. That includes the birds we’ve brought with us, and those that have come along with us as we’ve built the world around us.
I think there’s value in moving past the categories of good, bad, or “trash” birds. The longer you spend watching them, the harder it becomes to see any of them that way. Especially when one is waiting by the cage at the end of the day, hoping to rejoin its friends for dinner.
Join Me in the Outer Banks
Looking to spend more time in the field this season?
Now booking: Outer Banks Bird Tour
📅 May 27 – June 1, 2026
Optional Extension: June 1 – 4, 2026
We’ll be birding along barrier islands, marshes, and offshore waters, following the movement of birds through one of the most dynamic coastal landscapes on the East Coast.