 In South Africa , the common starling was introduced in 1897 by Cecil Rhodes . It spread slowly and by 1954 had reached <unk> and Port Elizabeth . It is now common in the southern Cape region , thinning out northwards to the Johannesburg area . It is present in the Western Cape , the Eastern Cape and the Free State provinces of South Africa and lowland <unk> , with occasional sightings in KwaZulu @-@ Natal , <unk> and around the town of <unk> in <unk> . In Southern Africa populations appear to be resident and the bird is very much associated with man , his <unk> and pastures . It favours irrigated land and is absent from regions where the ground is baked so dry that it cannot probe for insects . It may compete with native birds for crevice nesting sites but the indigenous species are probably more disadvantaged by destruction of their natural habitat than they are by inter @-@ specific competition . It breeds from September to December and outside the breeding season may <unk> in large flocks , often roosting in <unk> . It is the most common bird species in urban and agricultural areas . 
