In the spring of 1997 a friend called and asked if she could have a lady she knew call me about taking care of a baby bird...my answer was an immediate yes.

She arrived with a precious little bird...grey with what I like to call "yellow lips" He was a very cooperative little guy from the very beginning, always ready to eat!

I had no idea what kind of bird he was since I don't have Starlings in my yard nor did anyone else I knew, including the lady that brought him to me. At that time there were not all the wonderful Starling sites we have now to help you identify a baby Starling.

Rudy went through many changes in color, which only made it more difficult to identify him. Went though all my bird books over and over...but never could come up with a true identification even though I was leaning toward a Starling by the end of the summer. Christmas Eve of that year I finally found a picture that looked exactly like him on the internet and I finally knew I had the Starling I'd wished for for years. I had read several articles about what wonderful pets they were and also good talkers.

Rudy started out with a black beak when he was grown but it later changed to yellow. He went through a difficult molt last fall and but is now more beautiful than you can imagine and his beak has turned back to black again.

Last year I thought something must be wrong with my talking clock that's near his cage...kept hearing it announce the time at weird times and not always correct. I finally figured out it was Rudy! Shortly after that he started calling one of my dogs, Shasta. She is 14 yrs old and you have to talk real loud for her to hear you so Rudy had picked that up too. "Come on, Shasta, Come on little girl" He is now saying many more phrases..."What you doing?", calls my son Jeff..."Jeff, Jeff, come here Jeff"...says "Hello" exactly like my Nandey Conure...seems to really enjoy his cage next to my other pet birds and all the bird sounds. He also can whistle the beginning of "Fur Elise" I've always whistled to him and he can make the sounds of the many different size bells I have in his cage. Probably the most amazing of all though as hard as it is to believe, he can actually whistle and talk at the same time, my sister was the first to notice this when she was here visiting.

He is a beautiful bird...and loves to take baths with gusto! If I don't get away real quick I've had one too he splashes so much...just physically jumps in the water immediately.

For anyone that would like a pet bird...you could not find a better one...Rudy is truly a joy to have and can't help but keep you smiling...and I can't help but believe he could learn anything I had the time to teach him.....Dreamweaver

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