Nine ships of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 have borne the name HMS Starling after the starling

Starling

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...

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was a 12-gun gun-brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

 launched in 1801 and wrecked in 1804. was a 12-gun gun-brig launched in 1805 and sold in 1814. was a 10-gun cutter launched in 1817 and broken up in 1828. was a 4-gun schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 launched in 1829. She was used as a survey ship from 1834, and was sold in 1844. was a Dapper class wooden screw gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 launched in 1855 and sold in 1871. was a composite screw gunboat launched in 1882 and sold into civilian service in 1905 as the Stella Maris. was a tender, formerly the War Office

War Office

The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...

 vessel Miner 17. She was transferred in 1905 and renamed in 1906. She was sold in 1923. was a Modified Black Swan-class

Black Swan class sloop

The Black Swan class and Modified Black Swan class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Thirteen Black Swans were launched between 1939 and 1943, including four for the Royal Indian Navy; twenty-four Modified Black Swans were launched between 1942 and 1945, including...

 sloop

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 launched in 1942 and broken up in 1965. was a Peacock-class

Peacock class patrol vessel

The Peacock Class is a class of patrol corvette built for the Royal Navy. Only five were ever constructed, and by 1997 all had been sold to the Irish Naval Service or the Philippine Navy.-Original use:...

 patrol vessel launched in 1984 and sold to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 in 1997, being renamed Artemio Ricarte

BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS-37)

The BRP Artemio Ricarte is one of the three Jacinto class of corvettes, and are considered as one of the most modern ships in the Philippine Navy. She was originally called HMS Starling during her service with the Royal Navy...

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