Silly Songs, The European Starling

Here, from J., are 365 days worth of silly music MP3 files for your listening pleasure (sorry J., I know you sent me this link ages ago but I didn’t follow it up until today as I only got the sound fixed on my computer very recently and I’ve been absorbed by iTunes and PureTracks since then.)

UbuWeb also has an eclectic collection of other audio files, writings and art/images, all free – great stuff to browse around in when you’re avoiding the items on your to-do list.

And, just arrived today from wherever they’ve been lately, two European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

I don’t really like Starlings. They are messy, hacking away at the suet with their bright yellow beaks, scattering more on the ground than they eat. They are bossy, preventing other birds from approaching the feeders. Even the Steller’s Jay, which will normally only give way to Crows, vigorous arm-waving, or attack dogs named Andy, screeches loudly from the top of the bird feeder pole, not able to land on the suet feeder despite being 2 to 3 times the size of the Starlings.

I bang on the kitchen window and the Starlings fly off.

The Steller’s Jay turns around and screeches at me. Ungrateful!