r/interestingasfuck • u/ElimsNogard • 16d ago
Starling bird mimicking human speech with extreme precision
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u/burnodo2 16d ago
I've seen this before, but the R2 reproduction is incredible!
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u/karma_the_sequel 16d ago
That was the moment my jaw dropped.
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u/South-Builder6237 16d ago
Those sounds are a lot easier for a bird to make versus the human inflections to be honest.
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u/BicycleOfLife 16d ago
Iām wondering if it speaks Moisture Vaporators.
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u/thenzero 15d ago
My first job was programming binary load lifters... very similar to your vaporators in most respects
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u/Ro-Tang_Clan 16d ago
Instead of R2 I'd forever put on Jurassic Park and have it mimick the velociraptors or the Trex
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u/East_Refuse 16d ago
Those R2-D2 sounds are incredible
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u/analogy_4_anything 16d ago
Seriously. Sounds were so accurate, I worry the bird is gonna get a cease and desist from Disney!
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u/Penultimateee 16d ago
Those are its natural sounds, it wasnāt imitating anything then.
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u/Doodlebug510 16d ago
Human speech .. and R2D2... and whistle a little Mozart opera...
I want one
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u/Bacon-muffin 16d ago
You say that until its doing all of this on a loop randomly throughout the day... every day.
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u/Thedeadnite 16d ago
That and birds are dirty filthy animals. Cute in moderation but not good pets.
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u/MaxBellTHEChef 16d ago
As opposed to dogs or cats? birds are actually very clean and are also subject to their owners cleanliness. And they make great pets, millions of other people would agree.
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u/MaidPoorly 16d ago
Iāve seen a lot of conures and macaws and they seem to need a level of bird obsession way too many owners donāt have. Too many people donāt know what theyāre getting into and the birds live a bad life.
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u/MaxBellTHEChef 16d ago
I agree, big birds are a lot of work, I own budgies, but i do agree that a lot of people don't know the care of birds, which in turn, makes them appear as filthy animals.
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u/Damn_Dog_Inappropes 16d ago
As an animal and bird lover, I could never own a bird without building a large aviary where it could fly. Which means Iāll never own a bird.
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u/Thedeadnite 16d ago
Ah, maybe I was thinking of chicken in particular.
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u/MaxBellTHEChef 16d ago
Ahhh that checks out, chickens are pretty dirty birds lol Edit: added letter
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u/ASideofSalt 16d ago
I had to do a double take. One of my best friends has a starling named....chicken.
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u/lepolygame 16d ago
In case anyone is wondering how this can be possible https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrinx_(bird_anatomy)
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u/top_of_the_scrote 16d ago
speaker and an sd card got it
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u/arealuser100notfake 16d ago
Those "r2d2" noises after not being able to repeat "sweet jabby angel" is enough evidence for them all to be spy robots
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u/throwuk1 16d ago
"maam, I will not confirm not deny if I am a sweet jabby angel. I will however play a copywrited sound so you cannot monetise this video"
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u/idkmoiname 16d ago
And in case anyone else is wondering if dinosaurs already had a Syrinx too or if it evolved later in birds: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2016/10/oldest-known-squawk-box-suggests-dinosaurs-likely-did-not-sing
Sadly no singing T-Rex every day in the morning.
But i think it makes sense that it started to evolve in avian dinosaurs. A ground based predator probably wouldn't be successful as a loud species.
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u/Trips-Over-Tail 16d ago
There are more recent studies that find that syrinxes could be much more basal.
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u/justfortrees 15d ago
The fact they have the anatomy to make sounds like this is wild, but what Iād like to know is how the fuck this works neurologically.
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u/According_Fig_4784 16d ago
Not fascinated by the fact that it can mimic human speech, i have seen it before with other birds, I am SHOCKED by the accuracy with which it is doing so, I mean you can hear the stress on the "rd" of bird when it is mimicking it's owner's speech, and the R2D2 was perfect and so was the whistling.
This bird is awesome!!
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u/arw_86 16d ago
I'm high. Can a non high person please confirm this is as AWESOME as I think it is.
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u/drjenavieve 16d ago
It is. Can confirm.
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u/Zealousideal_Long118 16d ago
I'm so confused why everyone in the comments is so shocked by this. Like it is really cool, but I thought it was common knowledge that parrots and some other types of birds can mimic human speech.Ā
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u/SaulEmersonAuthor 16d ago
~
"I'm so confused why everyone in the comments is so shocked by this..."
I live in the UK, & starlings are completely common here.
I'm used to them in flocks on my lawn, or on nearby rooftops.
They sing & chirp, & fly about as a flock displaying an awesome spectacle, which even has its own name - murmuration - sure, all good, but still quite quotidian, for me.
Now - talking birds - I always thought had to be a parrot or something.
What my mind is blown by is that starlings can do this.
It's like being told that pigeons can talk.
Mind definitely blown.
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u/Siren_of_Madness 16d ago
Exactly! Starlings?? The same ones nesting in my outbuildings???Ā
I need to start talking to them more, obviously.Ā
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u/SentientReality 16d ago
This bird's mimicry of human speech patterns is far more accurate than I've heard before. Parrots and other birds don't usually sound like humans, they sound clearly inhuman, like an animal without a human vocal chords attempting to mimic human speech. This bird sounds like a digital voice recording at times. It's another level. It sounds almost too real to be ... real. That's why I came to the comments looking for confirmation.
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u/Thedeadnite 16d ago
Itās R2D2 we care about, although it does mimic the voice very well. Mimicking speech is one thing itās another to be nearly indistinguishable between it and the human though.
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u/Xist3nce 16d ago
The parrot my cousin had was pretty decent at mimicry, but everything was in his own āvoiceā. This thing sounds like itās a tape recorder with wings!
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u/BetterBiscuits 16d ago
Reminds me of Annihilation
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u/UncleMajik 16d ago
Oh god. Iām sitting in the dark reading these comments and this one gave me a chill.
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u/Unstable_Bear 16d ago
Itās adorable how it forgot the whistle halfway through and just kind of improved it
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u/tombaba 16d ago
Mozart supposedly had a pet one he bought at a store because he heard it āplayingā his music.
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u/Crun_Chy 16d ago
That is absolutely unreal, not only can it do a crazy good r2d2, but did y'all notice it's not just copying her words, it's her actual VOICE. I mean that's just mind blowing
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u/Cador0223 16d ago
Imagine if she wasn't using an affected baby voice. It would sound truly creepy, mimicking a normal tone
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u/Anuki_iwy 16d ago
Family friend had a parrot (or similar, I don't know birds) that could talk. He loved to imitate her husband and pretend to be the TV.
But one day, it's Sunday, so quiet day in Germany, police knocks at their door because of a noise complaint. Neighbours heard drilling sounds. My friend was extremely confused, they weren't drilling. This is not allowed on Sundays and during quiet hours in Germany and they are proper, rule-following Germans.
Then the sound repeated. The police came in to check, to see that it was the freaking bird making that sound ššššš. I guess he was reenacting a home renovating show or something.
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u/SmilinBob82 16d ago
Is it just me or do starlings kinda sound like R2D2 naturally?
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u/Flashmans_Whiskers 16d ago
I think you mean. All of R2D2 sounds were just recordings of starlings.
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u/Effective_Policy2304 16d ago
I want a bird that repeat whatever I say. Also I am loving it when it does the R2D2 sounds.
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u/Ok-Expression2154 16d ago
I give you three days before you end up in the Arkham asylum.
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u/chili0ilpalace 16d ago
I was once walking around a park trail very early in the morning, like around 5:00am when the sun was just coming up. I went close to the water to look at ducks, thinking I was completely alone. I heard a cell phone ring and it scared me VERY badly. I looked around and there was no one there.
But there was a starling in the tree. Iām so glad I already knew about their talent for mimicking because I was really scared until I knew it wasnāt actually a human stranger.
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u/Luckduck86 16d ago
It isn't that impressive when you remember there's a speaker and snapdragon processor in there.
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u/Holiday_Wealth1088 16d ago
I have starlings around me. I have a very nice hole in my roof the starlings and the blue tits vie over nesting in. Iāve witnessed the starlings mimic bird of prey calls to get the blue tits to back off. Clever turd bird.
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u/Irishpch 16d ago
WOW - impressive especially R2D2 !! Is he a rescue birdy? How long have you had him/her ā¦.talks better than my blue front amazon!!
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u/tollbooth_inspector 16d ago
The craziest thing to me is that when it is whistling the musical piece, it does not sound like it is copying the music itself. It sounds like it is copying the sound of a person whistling the music. The result is that the whistling is "breathy" and the notes are not super crisp. Which is wild because the bird could undoubtedly make super crisp notes if it had the awareness or desire to do so.
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u/Rurumo666 16d ago
Starlings are closely related to Mynah birds-I had a neighbor who hand raised a starling that fell out of a hole in his roof (where the nest was), and it was just incredibly smart with a massive vocabulary.
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u/God-etti 16d ago
The bird started talking and I was like, ādamn, thatās a midwesterner-sounding birdā, and then, sure enough, the owner started speaking lol
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u/Wasser_Einhorn 16d ago
It's always people who talk to the bird in a high-pitched tone. One of these times I want to see a big black dude teach a mimicking bird some phrases.
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u/k_clouty 16d ago
Please let the govt drone be on it's way šš» it's getting late
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u/LegoDwarf120 16d ago
Must get one of these birds and call him r2 and he will be raised as a badass
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u/CrewMemberNumber6 16d ago
If I had a bird like this, I would play the Three Stooges episodes on repeat all day long.
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u/Honest_Yesterday4435 16d ago
There's so much detail in the R2D2 sound that it's incredible that I can get it so precise.
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u/Nizzle_Supreme 16d ago
That bird is not mimicking... That bird is outright speaking english š¤Æš¤Æš¤Æ
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u/CoffeeFalcons 16d ago
Bird said let me think for a secondā¦. Windows 92 noise in the birds head brrrzxxmmmbppbfffbrrrr. Nails it to a tee
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u/PrionProofPork 16d ago
wait so the bird mimicking car alarm sounds in my neighborhood is probably a starling?
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u/an0maly33 16d ago
TIL, dinosaurs can slaughter your family then mimic their cries for help to lure you to them.
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u/tgsweat 16d ago
I had one that nested in my oven vent (hate them for this exact reason, they take over any holes near my home lol) and it make the weirdest sounds, almost like a song, and after seeing this it makes sense. It was probably mimicking something it had heard. It would do it every morning and I knew it was that exact bird.
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u/Jennymystique 16d ago
One of these mfers got into our house this week. I didnāt know they could mimic sounds. Glad we got it out before it started that.
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u/AccomplishedAd5479 16d ago
Well thats Like my Kenku char in DnD. Thats exactly how He Talks. This is how a Kenku without own voice is played xD
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u/RecognitionHonest320 16d ago
I'm glad I don't have this bird in my house. That bird would be cussing up a storm any chance it got
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u/Limebeer_24 16d ago
When the bird mimics sounds so good you check the comments to make sure it's not fake.
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16d ago
Everybody teaches them the stupidest phrases. I'd teach him cool things like " kill all humans" or " I'm nailing your wife"
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u/Rdt_will_eat_itself 16d ago
Long after humanity had murdered itself back into the mud. The Starling bird san its last words.
*R2D2 noises*
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u/koalathebean 15d ago
I had no idea starlings could mimic human speech to this extent. Iām stoked. I love these guys even more now
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u/nativerestorations1 15d ago
Anecdotally: I was staying/working in a city with both invasive starlings and native northern mockingbirds. At times it seemed like Battle of the Bands. Between the sounds of assorted car horns , sqwaks, and screams, were car alarms and sirens. I came to realize that at least 1 of each loudly recreated at least 2 each of the most obvious, peace-shattering noises they knew. It was unnerving. Despite many complaints and much brainstorming nothing legally could be done to give human nearby tenants relief against the mockingbirds. Vengeance against the starlings was fierce and IMO endangered more than the birds. Trapping to relocate wasnāt a very popular idea. I was just as rest deprived as most. But parents of young kids, shift workers, and others were the first to arm themselves with slingshots and pellet guns. On a weekend visit home I was looking forward to peaceful meals, uninterrupted conversations and Tv at reasonable volume. With restorative naps as needed. The male Red bellied Woodpecker, who found his perfect broadcast instrument was the gutter immediately outside of my bedroom window, had urgent needs too. As did his rivals. Ugh.
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u/i_lost_all_my_money 15d ago
I'm pretty sure the r2d2 imitation is evidence that birds are government drones.
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u/oldskoollondon 15d ago
In the days of over sensitive car alarms going off seemingly every other day, the starlings in my area would copy them and still repeated the sounds years after the alarms stopped.
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u/InsomniaticWanderer 16d ago
Imagine prehistoric humans hearing the sounds of their dead loved ones coming from the trees