This Bird Does an Incredible R2D2 Impersonation

Have you ever noticed those glossy, dark-colored birds that seem to be everywhere in North America? Those are European starlings, and they are so much more interesting than they might seem at first glance. Not only do they have stunning, iridescent feathers, but they are top-notch masters of mimicry. As seen in this YouTube video, these social butterflies can copy all sorts of sounds, from human voices to Star Wars characters!

The Story of the Starling

In the early 1890s, some fans of William Shakespeare brought about 100 European starlings to the United States. Shakespeare often wrote about starlings, and the group wanted to introduce the birds to America. They released them in New York’s Central Park, and now there are over 200 million starlings across North America.

The Starling’s Symphony of Sounds

What makes starlings especially unique is their impressive vocal talents. These incredible little performers can sing and produce a wide variety of sounds. They have their own natural songs and calls, but they’re also extraordinary mimics, copying other birds and even non-bird sounds.

Starling songs can include many different sounds, like warbles, whistles, purrs, rattles, trills, screams, and chirps. They can mimic and imitate at least 20 other bird species, including northern flickers, wood-pewees, meadowlarks, killdeer, cowbirds, red-tailed hawks, and robins. They can also copy non-bird sounds like car alarms, human voices, engines, and even R2D2 from Star Wars.

However, starlings don’t randomly copy just any sound. They tend to focus on sounds that are important to their social lives. They’re more likely to copy sounds they hear frequently from people, animals, or places they have close contact with. Studies have shown that starlings who have regular, direct interaction with humans can learn to copy speech and whistling. They can also pick up other sounds around them, like other animals or even mechanical noises. The bird featured in this YouTube video is a rescue animal, and having spent much of his life around humans, he’s picked up many unique sounds.

How Starlings Sing

Starlings have a unique physiology that helps them create so many different sounds. Instead of a voice box like ours, they have something called a syrinx, which is kind of like having two voice boxes built into one. Each side of the syrinx can work on its own and produce different sounds at the same time. Male starlings usually have a larger syrinx with bigger muscles, which lets them sing more complex songs.

Male birds also use their neck feathers more when singing. They can even twitch their throat feathers to help them make certain sounds, or puff out their feathers when trying to attract a female. Their feathers are loose, long, and move easily when they make noise. Males can puff up or wiggle their feathers along with their songs and calls, similar to how we use body language in addition to our words. Their throat muscles move a lot when they make noise, which also can show up as movement in their neck feathers.