The Shadow
In our area it isn’t uncommon for families to have dogs and cats as pets.
Some families have horses, maybe sheep and goats – even birds.
Birds kept as pets are usually parrots and parakeets. What would you think of keeping a starling as a pet?
We have a family in our area who is doing that very thing.
JoAnn Mize discovered a wounded starling, struggling with a broken wing after falling from its nest in the eaves of the house.
She took the fledgling into her home to help it recover from wounds by trying to tie the broken wing together. Her intentions were to feed and water the starling until its recovery and then release the bird.
However, the bird did not recover. Its wing was simply too damaged to heal, and in fact, it finally fell off completely.
What a predicament for the Mize family. To release an injured bird into the wild was out of the question. The only thing to do was continue to feed and water the poor bird in their home.
That was in May 2004.
For over seven years, Mrs. Mize has bought food for her unusual pet. At first she tried dog food, soaked in water to soften. That was unacceptable.
Thinking that birds like worms, they tried fishing worms, then hamburger.
Finally, she found a cricket, which was the best meal the poor bird could imagine.
So there was nothing to do except buy crickets. She now spends $5 a week at a pet store to order two dozen crickets for her spoiled bird.
While nursing the starling, Mrs. Mize played country music.
Then the bird began picking up words from the songs and imitating them.
He might be heard saying, “What are you doing, baby?” Also in his repertoire are “Hello” and “Hello Baby.”
Mrs. Mize is a quilter, and after sitting for long periods, she would stand with the expression, “Oh, me!” That now is another common saying of her starling.
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds describes the starling as smaller than a robin, chunky, iridescent black feathers, pointed bill, yellow in summer and dark in winter.
Conditioned by centuries of living in settled areas of Europe, it easily adapted to American cities when 100 birds were liberated in New York City’s Central Park in 1890.
Since then, it has spread over most of the continent, roosting on buildings in flocks of thousands of birds.
These congregations create much noise, foul the area and have proved difficult to drive away.
Starlings are aggressive birds and compete with native species for nest cavities and food.
There has been much debate regarding their economic value, but their consumption of insects seems to tip the balance in their favor.
The starling produces a series of discordant, musical, squeaky and rasping notes. It often imitates other birds.
Mrs. Mize will concur that not only does it imitate other birds, but it also imitates human sounds. It may be the only American-born bird to learn to talk.
Matthew 7:26 tells us, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.”
I this case, the Heavenly Father has Mrs. Mize to feed, water and care for one starling.
The bird often sits in a shoe in the room where he is kept.
Sometimes the starling goes for a walk with the family, perched on the toe of the shoe during the walk.
During the walk, if he sees an interesting food item – such as a spider – he jumps off the shoe, eats the insect and then resumes the walk on the toe of the shoe.
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Matthew 7-25.
Life couldn’t be much better for one lucky starling.
