Eastern Starling

[Bobbi]

The starling is one of those common birds that get passed over because they are "plain". However, when in the sunlight, they glisten in iridescence. This was done with stickers as brushes. Starlings are also great mimics. They can be taught to "speak".

[copespeak]

Such a nice painting Bobbi.

I agree they are great little birds, and that iridescence is amazing..

Many years ago we found a tiny, blind and bald baby bird below a tree. We took it in, kept it warm and fed it cat food on a matchstick. When it got a little bigger it graduated to worms, which was a big job as it was never full! Fortunately we had cowpats next door, so I would flip them over and scoop up all the worms underneath.

He grew feathers, and lo and behold it was a starling, and such a character! He lived in the bathroom/laundry for a time and would greet us as we opened the door with a flutter of feathers as he landed on our shoulders. He bathed in my husband's shaving water and chattered furiously under my hair and into my ear. Finally we began to go outside, with him on my shoulder. I sat under the trees and taught him to lift leaves and hunt for bugs.

One day another bird spotted him and chased him off, and I never saw him again, but he was fully grown and self sufficient, so probably survived very well.

It was such a lovely experience, and although others scoffed when they learned he was 'only a starling', I thought he was gorgeous!

[Bobbi]

Such a nice painting Bobbi.

I agree they are great little birds, and that iridescence is amazing..

Many years ago we found a tiny, blind and bald baby bird below a tree. We took it in, kept it warm and fed it cat food on a matchstick. When it got a little bigger it graduated to worms, which was a big job as it was never full! Fortunately we had cowpats next door, so I would flip them over and scoop up all the worms underneath.

He grew feathers, and lo and behold it was a starling, and such a character! He lived in the bathroom/laundry for a time and would greet us as we opened the door with a flutter of feathers as he landed on our shoulders. He bathed in my husband's shaving water and chattered furiously under my hair and into my ear. Finally we began to go outside, with him on my shoulder. I sat under the trees and taught him to lift leaves and hunt for bugs.

One day another bird spotted him and chased him off, and I never saw him again, but he was fully grown and self sufficient, so probably survived very well.

It was such a lovely experience, and although others scoffed when they learned he was 'only a starling', I thought he was gorgeous!

Robyn,
What a delightful story. Thank you for sharing it. My husband and I had a similar situation several years ago. A young bird was being menaced by some neighborhood cats. My husband rescued the bird. We knew he/she was young because it still had that telltale yellow beak of a young bird. We kept the little guy in an old bird cage. It ate just about everything we fed it, fruit, meat, etc.

That bird loved to take a bath. We put a small cup in the cage and that little guy just enjoyed splashing water all over the place. We would take him out of the cage and hold onto his feet and moved him up and down so he would exercise his wings. Finally, when it appeared he was strong enough to fly, we took him outside and opened the cage. He took off to the branches of a tree in the yard. He actually flew over to a branch near us as if to say, see ya. Turns out he was a grackle. Another bird with beautiful iridescent feathers.

Birds are so fascinating, from the smallest to the largest.

Regards
Bobbi

[Marilyn Anne]

The painting is lovely. The birds bring so much cheer.