 The common starling was introduced to Australia to consume insect pests of farm crops . Early settlers looked forward to their arrival , believing that common starlings were also important for the <unk> of flax , a major agricultural product . Nest @-@ boxes for the newly released birds were placed on farms and near crops . The common starling was introduced to Melbourne in 1857 and Sydney two decades later . By the 1880s , established populations were present in the southeast of the country thanks to the work of <unk> committees . By the 1920s , common starlings were widespread throughout Victoria , Queensland and New South Wales , but by then they were considered to be pests . Although common starlings were first sighted in Albany , Western Australia in 1917 , they have been largely prevented from spreading to the state . The wide and arid <unk> Plain provides a natural barrier and control measures have been adopted that have killed 55 @,@ 000 birds over three decades . The common starling has also colonised Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island . 
