 Like most terrestrial starlings the common starling moves by walking or running , rather than hopping . Their flight is quite strong and direct ; their triangular @-@ shaped wings beat very rapidly , and periodically the birds <unk> for a short way without losing much height before resuming powered flight . When in a flock , the birds take off almost simultaneously , wheel and turn in <unk> , form a compact mass or trail off into a <unk> stream , bunch up again and land in a coordinated fashion . Common starling on migration can fly at 60 – 80 km / h ( 37 – 50 mph ) and cover up to 1 @,@ 000 – 1 @,@ 500 km ( 620 – 930 mi ) . 
