Starlings are an introduced species to America and have adapted well to urban life which offers abundant nesting and food sites. Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The starlings familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the European Starling, and throughout much of Asia and the Pacific is the Common Myna.

Starlings have strong feet and they are very gregarious. The starling is a dark that is distinguished from other balckbird species by its short tail and longer, slender bill. In the winter starlings showcase a highly speckled, irridescent coat, while in the summer their plumage is much duller brown/black with less speckles.

Their preferred habitat is an open country, where they eat insects and fruit. Several species live around human habitation, and are effectively omnivores. Starlings gather in massive flocks (some numbering tens of thousands) and these aggressive birds will drive out other native bird species often taking over the other birds' existing nests.

The Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a large icterid. Common grackles are about 12" long and have green/blue or purple tinged black plumage with a glossy purplish head, neck and chest. The female of the species is slightly smaller and duller colored than the male grackle. Boat-tailed and great-tailed grackles are slightly larger than the common grackle at about 16" in length with similar plumage, but these pest birds have long "V" shaped tails that crease in flight. Like starlings and other members of the blackbird family, these birds are aggressive, colonizing in huge flocks to overwhelm structures and drive out native bird species.

When starlings or grackles are in their flocking phase, thousands of these pest birds can literally overwhelm trees or buildings in an area. Typical starling or grackle problems are large scale buildup of their sprayed feces (a whitewash look) which can lead to structural damage, as the uric acid in the pest bird droppings can corrode stone, metal and masonry. Machinery and drainage problems occur from starling nesting materials and bird droppings.

In addition, the bacteria, fungal agents and ectoparasites found in starling droppings and nesting materials are responsible for a host of serious diseases, including histoplasmosis, encephalitis, salmonella, meningitis, toxoplasmosis and more. The large quantity of starling or grackle droppings can open a company up to slip and fall liability if not properly cleaned up. Many companies also retain significant clean up and maintenance costs due to starling problems or grackle problems that are not resolved. Agriculture often has grackle problems as these problem birds will eat small seedlings and damage crops.