The natural (and un-natural) history of the European Starling in North America is much more complex - and interesting - than most people likely know. Mike Stark does a superb job of presenting it in "Starlings; the Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird (@univnebpress.bsky.social). #Booksky

Have a book-loving bird nerd or a curious nature-lover on your gift list? STARLINGS is 50% off right now. Just sayin’. (Coupon code is 6HLW25 when you check out.) #Books #Birds #Birdwatching #Naturewriting www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/...

That’s one of the last Tacoma pocket gophers ever to exist on Earth. I’m working on a new book about extinct species in America, telling the stories of who they were and why they disappeared. Do you have a fascinating (modern) extinction that I should look into? #wildlife #extinction #books

Well, sheesh. My book on starlings (surprising title: Starlings) is among the 2025 favorites from the Washington Independent Review of Books @wirobooks.bsky.social. #Books #Birds #Naturewriting #Birdwatching www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/our...

"This is a book for anyone willing to spend a little time considering a species that birders and non-birders alike have conditioned themselves to ignore, and the tenderness with which Stark narrates both their faults and their ruggedness deserves praise." #Birds academic.oup.com/condor/advan...

I'd never grouse about being compared to a cloud of starlings: “Starlings is both highly readable and deeply entertaining, tracing how starlings went from a solution to a problem. Stark’s book dips and weaves like a starling murmuration...” #Birds #Naturewriting networks.h-net.org/group/review...

Honored to have my book on starlings included in Nautilus (@nautil.us ) magazine’s top 10 books of the summer for curious minds…maybe these pesky birds aren’t so bad after all. #Books #Birds #Booksky #NatureWriting #Wildlife #Birding www.instagram.com/reel/DMDUD7k...

Thx to Orange Blossom Ordinary for an insightful discussion of my book about starlings and our complicated relationship with the wild things around us. Find it here: www.orangeblossomordinary.com/reviews/look... #Books #Birds #Booksky #NatureWriting #Wildlife #Birding

The consensus amongst ornithologists, bird-watchers, farmers, etc., is that starlings rank somewhere between a low-grade pest and a waking nightmare. Author Mike Stark asks, how do we decide whether a species is a worthy one, deserving of our protection and admiration? 🧪

Kind words re: my book from the president of the Rachel Carson Council: “Starlings is at once one of the most entertaining, readable, and profound bird books I have ever read.” #Books #Birds #Booksky #NatureWriting #Wildlife #Birding Read the whole review: rachelcarsoncouncil.org/mike-stark-s...

Starlings reviewed in the Wall Street Journal: “This compelling book hits its stride with a ghastly chronicle of every tactic humans have employed in the battle against massive flocks and hopeless odds…” #Books #Birds #Booksky #NatureWriting #Wildlife #Birding www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Pleased to have the good folks at @nautil.us running an excerpt from Starlings. #Birds #Books #NatureWriting

"Have these winged wonders finally earned acceptance?" www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/s... @univnebpress.bsky.social #booksky

When bird brains collide: I had fun chatting about Starlings with Hannah over at the Bird Nerd Book Club podcast. #Books #Birds #Booksky #NatureWriting #Wildlife #Birding www.buzzsprout.com/2118082/epis...

"This combination of human and natural history is a captivating read," writes Nancy Bent for @ala-booklist.bsky.social of STARLINGS by @mike-stark.bsky.social. Get your copy: bit.ly/4i7B7OS

If you're one of about 140,000 book-lovers going to the Tucson Festival of Books this weekend, on Saturday I'll be on a panel about writing and wildlife at 10 am and signing books at 1 pm Stop by if you're starling-curious, starling-furious or love birds. tucsonfestivalofbooks.org?action=displ...

Thanks to Arizona Spotlight and azpm.bsky.social for having me on to talk about Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird ... my interview starts around 18:00 #Books #Birds #Booksky #NatureWriting #Wildlife #Birding news.azpm.org/p/news-topic...

“Particularly in winter ... the starling ... added [a] bit of life in the landscape and a note of joy in the bleakness.” – Ornithologist Frank Chapman, 1907 @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Birdnerd #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

“The starling, by all accounts, is the orneriest, cussedest and in every way the most disagreeable and destructive bird known to man.” – San Bernardino Sun, 1960 @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Birdnerd #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

“The starling is a sphinx-like bird and ordinarily treats other birds with a sort of contemptuous tolerance.” – Ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush, 1916 @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

“You can hear the noise of all the wings beating. At times they appeared like a swarm of bees, other times like a truly massive swirling cloud...like colliding galaxies…” – Starling murmuration witness, 2019 @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

“Chortling, wheezing, gabbling and whistling, they flock as dense as a black storm cloud, casting sarcastic comments on the passerby ... ” – Naturalist Donald Peattie, 1926 @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

“In spite of his remarkable success as a pioneer, the starling probably has fewer friends than almost any other creature with feathers.” – Biologist and writer Rachel Carson, 1939 @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

My book, Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird is finally out and I thought I’d share some of the ways they’ve vexed and fascinated over the years. Stand by ... @univnebpress.bsky.social #NatureWriting #Books #Birds #Booksky #Nature #Wildlife #Birding

Finally diving in here ... Bird lovers and the Starling Curious: My book on the strange history of starlings is heading into world, the product of a minor obsession the past few years. @univnebpress.bsky.social #Books #Birds #Booksky #Birdnerd #Nature #Wildlife #Birding