The American Acclimatization Society was founded in 1871 to introduce European animals and plants into North America.

In 1890, they released one hundred European Starlings into New York’s Central Park, part of an insane plan to bring the “Birds of Shakespeare” to the New World.

Their scheme went horribly awry. Within a decade, tens of millions of invasive starlings aggressively competed for nesting cavities, causing the collapse of some native bird populations.

Nevertheless, Starlings are gorgeously iridescent, like this one, seen shimmering in Bette Davis Picnic Area.
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