I’ve mentioned Stars and Stripes, our European Starlings, many times in my blog posts. I’ve also mentioned that they talk … and yet, my readers have had nothing but my word to go on as to the truth of that.
All that has changed! I’ve finally, after quite a few months of trying to figure out a way to record them, come to a solution. You see, if they see any kind of recording device, they clam right up. Likewise with becoming upset at the sight of the camera. However, for the past several days, I’ve been acclimating them to the presence of a micro cassette recorder placed on top of their cage. Today, finally, they resumed their normal chatter with it running.
Please excuse the background noise and less than pristine quality of these clips. I’ve got a cable on the way that will allow me to patch the cassette recorder directly into the microphone jack on my computer. However, Stars was so chatty this morning that I couldn’t resist doing this the hard way … by just holding the mic to the speaker on the recorder.
These clips are in the form of .wav files, so any computer that can play standard sound files should be able to hear them. Clicking the link for each file should open it in a new browser tab or window for you.
And now, without further ado, I present to you Stars Nastasi, the talking Starling! (His clutch mate also talks, by the way, but Stars seems to be the more vocal of the duo).
1. laugh.wav (632K) — We start out with a short clip of Stars laughing. I can’t hear this silly chuckle without laughing myself. It’s as addictive as a yawn!
2. (whoshere)_Mommy.wav (451K) — You hear me ask, “Who’s here?” and Stars responds, “Mommy!”
3. whosaprettybird(short).wav (433K) — Their favorite phrase is “Who’s a pretty bird?”
4. whosaprettybird(clear).wav (1447K) — Stars wolf-whistles then whistles a little song. Then he says “Who’s a baby”, and then, really clearly, “Who’s a pretty bird?” I respond and then he says, more quietly, “Who’s a bay-bird” (baby-bird contraction).
5. pretty_baby_conversation.wav (1331K) — Stars says “You’re a pretty baby” and I respond with the same. Then I repeat that just as he says “Bird.” And then he asks, “Who is a baby” and then “Who’s a pray-bee?” (their combination of “pretty” and “baby”).
6. kisses_here-kitty_whistles.wav (513K) — My favorite. You’ll hear Stars mew-mew, then do some kisses (part of calling the cat). He then says, “Here, Kitty!” and wolf-whistles.
What a great gift!
Thanks to you, we have felt even more “connected”.
Merry Christmas,
Deb, Pat, and Mattie, Callie, and all kids;past & present.
We love you.
Thanks, Deb, Pat and tribe. Hugs to all from my chatty starlings and me. (Who just surprised us by coming out with a new word: “diney-saur”, while I was playing with the dog and his stuffed dinosaur.)
Awww… that is just tooo cute!! I love it.. they say that birds just mimic and that there is no intelligence or thought involved in their responses.. but.. I don’t believe that for a minute!!
I have to agree, Traci. There are so many times the starlings respond appropriately to what we say, that we just can’t call it coincidence!
Those are precious…thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Thank you, Shellie! Regardless of circumstances in our lives, we always have plenty of reason to laugh and smile … these guys are a big part of that.
Very cool, your readers should be reminded that these guys are not pets but inprinted rehab wild animals….dont go looking at the pet store for them.
Very true, Wes, and thanks for the reminder! Stars and Stripes were brought to me in the capacity of wildlife rehabilitation when they were 9 day old nestlings, and they imprinted on my family (despite all efforts to keep them from doing so). The only reason I’m able to keep them here at all, is that European Starlings are not a protected species, and it’s legal in most (though not all) states to keep them. The vast majority of wild birds can not be kept in captivity without a special federal permit.
LOL! That is amazing!
They’re so awesome.
If you search for Talking Starlings on YouTube you can find tons of video of various starlings chattering away, too. Be warned, it’s almost as addictive as knitting. LOL