Have you noticed how starlings mimic other sounds?

Question

I just heard on mimicing baby kittens.

Answer 1

Starlings are actually REALLY good at miming other sounds.

Try YouTubing "pet starling" and you can find some pretty crazy talkers!  What's interesting is since the birds have a very melodic tone to their voice naturally, when they start miming human speech they sound completely robotic.. it's eery, but definitely cool.

Like house sparrows, they're not protected under the migratory bird treaty act so it's not illegal to own them as pets - and I guess people who have fostered them have learned about this gift which has made them increasingly popular to try to obtain over the years.

Of course - you have to understand they're primarily insect eaters so they need a very specific live food diet.. but still.

They're similar to mynahs just perhaps not *as* talented..

Answer 2

Are you sure that wasn't a Gray Catbird?  

Here's a link about it: picture, sound, etc

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBir...