Mike Stark

…from the good folks in the environmental wing of H-Net Reviews, ‪@hnetreviews.bsky.social

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...

Interview with Mike Stark — Orange Blossom Ordinary Interview with Mike Stark, author of “Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird” on Orange Blossom Ordinary, a review for new books

And while you're there, you can read an interview with me about all manner of things, including what we think about birds, what birds might think of us, extinction, art, bears, writing, reading and, of course, starlings.

www.orangeblossomordinary.com/interviews/i...

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 Most Charming Villain in the Sky Author Mike Stark on the 3 greatest revelations he had while writing his new book about starlings

3 things I learned while writing Starlings (thanks to @nautil.us mag for the chance to explore):

1. Nature has a way of delivering unintended consequences.

2. Outsmarting these birds is harder than you think.

3. Histories are complicated – and never finished.

Read more
nautil.us/the-most-cha...

The Most Charming Villain in the Sky Author Mike Stark on the 3 greatest revelations he had while writing his new book about starlings

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? 🧪

Mike Stark, Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird (Bison Books, 2025) - Rachel Carson Council Should we progressives care about the fate of immigrants brought to the United States against their will? Can they even dream of citizenship? Rachel Carson, with her excess of empathy for all living c...

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...

Yep, indeed. There were other introductions but the ones in Central Park, by a guy named Eugene Schieffelin in the late 1800s, were the ones that stuck. I take a deep dive into that strange history in the book.

‘Starlings’ Review: The Backyard Bird We Love to Hate Plus “A Dumb Birds Field Guide to the Worst Birds Ever.”

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

Mike Stark - Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird - Bird Nerd Book Club Mike Stark’s Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird is a first-of-its-kind history of starlings in America, an oddball, love-hate story at the intersection of human folly, ornithology, an...

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...

Cover of "Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird"

"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...

Two new books that bring important histories to light.

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

I need to check that out. Thx for the head's up!

“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

Thx! Haven't heard any plans for an audio book yet but that would be a hoot.

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