Starling's Stunning Skills with Sound

[catbyte]

[EYESORE 9001]

1. I was visiting my grandmother, who informed me of something unusual

She told me that cuckoo clock noises were emanating from her clothes dryer. Fearing that dementia was rearing its ugly head, I investigated and found her statement was true. The flap covering the dryer vent had gotten stuck in the open position and an opportunistic pair of starlings were building a nest inside the dryer vent. They had heard my grandmother’s infernal cuckoo clock and mimicked it flawlessly.

[localroger]

2. Many years ago we had a pet starling

He was one of three we rescued from cats who were hunting them as they fledged before they could fly very well. The other two had already been scratched and died, but one survived and like all corvids proved to be extremely smart and personable. It is legal to keep a starling as a pet in the US because they are not native animals; they were introduced and in some areas are considered agricultural pests. You can easily tell them from the natives because in addition to the slight mottling of their dark feathers, all the native corvids have black beaks.

[Fla Dem]

3. Phenomenal!!!Loved the R2 D2 sound effects.

I couldn't get a parakeet to come close to talking like that.