 Because of the damage they do , there have been attempts to control the numbers of both native and introduced populations of common starlings . Within the natural breeding range , this may be affected by legislation . For example , in Spain , this is a species hunted commercially as a food item , and has a close season , whereas in France , it is classed as a pest , and the season in which it may be killed covers the greater part of the year . In the UK , the common starling may be killed at any time of year . This species is migratory , so birds involved in control measures may have come from a wide area and breeding populations may not be greatly affected . In Europe , the varying legislation and mobile populations mean that control attempts may have limited long @-@ term results . Non @-@ lethal techniques such as <unk> with visual or auditory devices have only a temporary effect in any case . 
