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"The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." -- Eden Phillpotts.
GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist has written a blog about science since 4 August 2004 (the early years are archived here) and was part of the original invited group of 14 "SciBlings" -- her only claim to fame. If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, please help her pay her living expenses by clicking on the Paypal button below and by voting for her to be the official blogger on a month long adventure in Antarctica. If you read an essay that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for OpenLab2009.
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Topic Categories: Behavior • Birds • Pets • Streaming videos
Posted on: October 25, 2008 8:59 AM, by "GrrlScientist"
tags: Weewoo The Talking Starling, Sturnis vulgaris, birds, behavior, pets, streaming video
Mozart had a pet starling whom he thought of as his musical companion. When his bird died, he had a funeral for him and invited his friends. This video should give you an appreciation for how talented these birds are as mimics [3:15]
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Comments
So give the bird a kiss already! I never knew starlings talked. That's probably because I've never seen a live starling.
Posted by: wrpd | October 25, 2008 8:08 PM
you are probably the only person on the entire planet who has never seen a live starling.
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | October 25, 2008 9:30 PM
when watching some of those videos, I'm not surprised at how bright the birds are, but at how much the humans are not...
Posted by: m | November 21, 2008 5:37 AM
I just found a starling in my christmas tree. It has been in my house for three weeks, decorated and everything. Just seen the bird flopping around today.
Posted by: Tiffany | December 19, 2008 10:39 PM