Sparrows and starlings are both prime examples of invasive exotic species- the are both originally from Europe and Asia, and were brought to North America by humans, where they subsequently spread and currently out-compete a number of native endangered species. I’ve personally watched a red-bellied woodpecker pair fight valiantly for days to maintain sovereignty over the hole they’d carved out against a resident mob of starlings; the woodpeckers eventually lost.
And so, my dear OP, many people will tell you that not only is it OK to kill exotic invasive species, but that you should seek them out and destroy them whenever possible, in order to preserve the endangered native species. Thus, no protection by the guv’mint.
Indeed. I’m fairly certain that at one point, our hunting regulations mentioned that their eggs could be broken and their nests destroyed. I don’t know if the wording was too gruesome or what but they’ve removed it for some reason.
