HOW STARLING GOT HIS SPECKLES

Pride nearly leads to a fall for a standoffish starling.

The other starlings fly in a huge flock, because “together is warmer and safer than alone.” But Star prefers to show off his dark, glossy feathers and refuses to join them. As he flits about branches and rooftops in lonely splendor, though, he catches the eye of a hawk and is saved only at the last minute when his desperate cries draw the others back; along with Star, they shape themselves into a giant raptor that frightens the predator away. Afterward, Star notices that his feathers (somehow) have new speckles that look just like a great flock. As Parrack concludes, from that day on, starlings have always born similar speckles as a “reminder that together is warmer and safer than alone.” It’s never made clear just how Star got the speckles, and many readers may wonder. The author closes this rather contrived tale with photos of starling murmurations and speculations about what purposes they might actually serve (since deliberately making shapes is not one of the options), along with more information about starlings. Boffa contributes ordinary, flat-perspective views of geometric houses, generic trees, and swirling masses of silhouetted birds that switch from gray to red to various other colors.

An unexceptional story, with pictures to match.