From my understanding, these birds were pets - brought here as pet songbirds. Enough of them have gotten loose to really take over in the cities. There is a book called "Arnie the Darling Starling" about a woman who found a bald chick outside her barn and took care of it. It turned out to be a starling and learned to talk... apparently sound mimicry is a characteristic of this species.
I love Starlings! I know they are not indigenous birds and are considered by many to be pests - but I just adore them. I rescued one that had been shot about 20 years ago. I kept him for about 6 months before releasing him. I worked at night and when I left, I would leave the radio on the classical station for him. One day, while I was sleeping, I awoke to a symphony in my room. I reached over to turn off the radio and it was already off. My little roommate was belting out such beautiful music. I only wish I had had something to film it with back then. He was so darling.
Nicely done, and welcome 2 Project Noah! The starling looks a lot like a rainbow, doesn't he? I LOVE starlings. They're such pretty birds! BTW, can we make friends on PN or what?
8 Comments
Oh, that is very interesting! Now I'm going to be trying to catch one;)
From my understanding, these birds were pets - brought here as pet songbirds. Enough of them have gotten loose to really take over in the cities. There is a book called "Arnie the Darling Starling" about a woman who found a bald chick outside her barn and took care of it. It turned out to be a starling and learned to talk... apparently sound mimicry is a characteristic of this species.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing! How cool that he learned to imitate the music!
I love Starlings! I know they are not indigenous birds and are considered by many to be pests - but I just adore them. I rescued one that had been shot about 20 years ago. I kept him for about 6 months before releasing him. I worked at night and when I left, I would leave the radio on the classical station for him. One day, while I was sleeping, I awoke to a symphony in my room. I reached over to turn off the radio and it was already off. My little roommate was belting out such beautiful music. I only wish I had had something to film it with back then. He was so darling.
Thanks! They sure are!
The iridescent feathers are beautiful!
Thank you so much! They sure are beautiful! Sure we can be friends! I'm loving PN so far!:)
Nicely done, and welcome 2 Project Noah! The starling looks a lot like a rainbow, doesn't he? I LOVE starlings. They're such pretty birds! BTW, can we make friends on PN or what?