The Hidden Powers of Animals: European Starlings

Although many people are familiar with the European Starling’s ability to mimic words and sounds, there is another factor that makes this bird truly amazing. 

Extraordinary Eyes

In most animal species with two eyes, and in humans, eyesight is identical in both eyes in healthy subjects. However, there are some species of animals where this is not always the case. European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), for example, have truly amazing eyes. The starling is a bird that is often seen as more of a pest than anything else, so not many people would think there was much of anything at all special about this bird. However, a few years ago a team of researchers in Australia led by biologist Nathan Hart discovered that the cellular composition of the Starling’s two eyes differ. The study found that in it’s left eye, the Starling has more single cones (photosensitive cells that respond to color). In it’s right eye, however, double cones (cells detecting movement) were found to predominate. What does that mean in plain English? Well that the Starling’s two eyes serve different functions; the left eye would be used to distinguish color, and the right to watch for movement. Interestingly many birds, including Starlings, tend to tilt their head and look at certain objects with either one eye or the other indicating whether they are looking out for movement (danger), or color (food, a mate, etc.).

More Starling Facts

• All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds released in New York’s Central Park in the early 1890s. A group dedicated to introducing America to all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works set the birds free. Today, European Starlings range from Alaska to Florida and northern Mexico, and their population is estimated at over 200 million birds.  [source]
•  Flocks are noted for forming a tight sphere-like formation in flight, then expanding, contracting, whirling and even changing shape, all seemingly without any sort of leader, much as a school of fish.  These displays sometime involve thousands of birds and are very spectacular. [source]
• Starlings are cousins to the Mynah bird and are outstanding mimics. An individual bird can mimic up to 20 species, including Eastern Wood Pewee, Killdeer, and Meadowlark songs. [source]

Starling Vocals