Mozart's Starling

Most books about pets seem to dwell on more common choices: dogs and cats being the most popular. This little gem came as a surprise to me. What could be more unique than a pet starling, right?

The author is a nature writer, a birdwatcher, and a committed wildlife advocate. While watching some starlings play outside her window, a story she had heard popped into her head: that of Mozart having a starling as a pet. And this random memory triggered a whole lot of action, culminating with this book.

You might be aware of starlings mainly for their magical murmurations. The sight of hundreds of thousands of them moving as one is bewitching to watch. But that's only one side of the story. You need to know the other side too, especially if you show more aren't much aware of birds in Western countries. Starlings are considered pests. If you Google for America's most hated bird, starlings come out as the winner. Lyanda Lynn Haupt herself concedes that starlings are a menace because of their huge numbers and the resultant problems because of their exploding population.

But...

Lyanda obtained a little starling for herself to see how Mozart might have been inspired by his pet. And her experience with this pet of hers proved to be unlike what she had ever imagined. Carmen, as her starling is named, turned out to be a wonderful, entertaining and intelligent companion, and still lives with the Haupt family.

The content looks into the great Wolfgang Mozart and how his pet starling might have impacted his life and his music. Mozart had discovered the starling in a Vienna pet shop, where the bird had somehow learned to sing the motif from his newest piano concerto. Enchanted, he bought the bird and kept it for three years before it died. While trying to analyse their relationship, Lyanda also tries to arrive at how the starling might have learnt the concerto.

Unlike what the title suggests, the book isn't limited to Mozart and his pet. Rather, it is all about starlings. The book presents both sides of these much-hated birds. How they are bad for the environment as well as how they are clever creatures with a great talent for mimicry. This content gets a tad too technical at times, but it is still a delight to an interested mind.

And finally, the book also presents Carmen's antics through various anecdotes peppered throughout the book, along with photographs. I loved these Carmen stories best of all. I've never been fond of the idea of having birds as pets. (This is especially because I've always seen them kept in cages.) Lyanda showed me how it is possible to have a healthy and happy bird at home without keeping it locked up in a cage. While it is still not an ideal situation for the bird, it's better than the alternative. The irony is that Carmen doesn't enjoy Mozart's music, though she loves other music and bluegrass is her favourite. So the author's original intention behind getting the starling went for a toss.

The three broad areas of content - Carmen's tales, Mozart's experience and insights about starlings - are not compartmentalized but interspersed with each other. This makes for an entertaining read because the moment the ornithological content becomes intense, either Mozart or Carmen comes as the breather.

You can make out the author's love for nature, especially for birds, throughout this book. The knowledge she offers into all things avian is amazing to read. Her sense of humour shines through in her recounting of Carmen's antics. Just how the starling learned Mozart’s piano motif is a wonderful musico-ornithological mystery. And Lyanda does her best to resolve this for us.

I enjoyed this book a lot, though it turned out a little different from what I had expected. I now see why starlings are considered a menace but I can also see the wonder of their talent. If you are a animal or bird lover, you might enjoy this offbeat read. It's not for everyone, but for those who enjoy animal-based nonfiction, it's a must.

Do note that there is some triggering content about how bird populations are kept in control or how they are made to learn how to sing.

4.25 stars from me.

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A unique blend of memoir, biography, and natural history about European Starlings and two people who have owned them: Mozart and the author. I read Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit earlier this year but wasn't in a hurry to read anything else by Ms Haupt, not because I didn't like Rooted but because there's SO MUCH TO READ.

Then I was at the library and on an endcap was a display of books about music. It was meant to be; I snatched Mozart's Starling up (still with no intention of reading it, I check out so many books that I never get around to reading). But the murmuration of starlings on evening walks had me asking questions, like where were all these starlings in spring and summer? Do they just know it's show more sunset and this is the meet-up spot?

Lovely book about a much hated bird of North America -- one that did not choose to be here, but was brought anyway because of misguided Europeans who wanted birds mentioned by Shakespeare in North America. Starlings, like House Sparrows, have proven incredibly adaptable. Learning about Carmen (Ms Haupt's pet) and Mozart was a lovely combination, I even discovered some new-to-me Mozart compositions (A Musical Joke!). Exactly what I needed to keep distracted from the news. show less

Legend has it that wandering through the markets of Vienna, Mozart came across a caged starling singing the theme from one of his piano concertos. Mozart purchased the bird, and it became the family pet for the next several years. It is even believed that Mozart held a funeral for the bird when it died, although he did not even attend his own father's funeral. It is also said that the starling's songs inspired some of Mozart's themes.

Nature writer and avid birdwatcher Lyanda Lynn Haupt investigates the truth of this story (for the most part true), and along the way examines the nature and history of the starling, an invasive species (to the U.S.), and almost universally reviled bird. To enhance her study, Haupt rescued (kidnapped?) a show more baby starling and raised it to adulthood. The bird, named Carmen, became a beloved family pet, and an integral part of her family.

Using the juxtaposition of the story of Mozart's starling and her relationship with Carmen Haupt examines both music and nature. Apparently, starlings have been described as "rats with wings," but Carmen is charming and delightful, and the backstory of Mozart's music and life also makes for good reading. I liked this book very much.

3 1/2 stars show less

"In conservation circles, starlings are easily the most despised birds in all of North America, and with good reason."

"Common, invasive, aggressive, reviled. Starlings don't just lie beneath our notice, the sentiment runs, they are actually undeserving of our notice."

I have been birding nearly two years and I did not realize that starlings held this much disdain. Well, I just received an extensive education on starlings, as the author uses these birds as informative and entertaining bookends: In 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, heard a starling singing a fragment of one his compositions, as he passed a pet store. He purchased the bird and kept it as a close companion for the next three years. When Haupt decided to write about Mozart and show more “Carmen”, his beloved starling, she picked up a baby starling herself, raised it and studied it, while working on this book.
This is an ambitious project, as we get plenty of Mozart history, nuggets about conservation and nature and a complete showcase of the reviled starling.
She is a smart and engaging writer, with a good sense of humor. She has also done her homework. A joy to read. show less

I enjoyed this book from the beautiful cover to the author’s philosophical musing at the end about the music of the spheres. At the heart of the book is Carmen, the Starling rescued from a condemned nest by the author’s husband. Haupt raised the bird from its sickly beginnings into a sleek and charming companion. Her motives were somewhat selfish, but the end result was a happy bird and a most unusual book about Mozart’s compositions and his life that also included a pet Starling aptly named Star.

Whether or not Star was an inspiration to Mozart or just a whimsical member of the family mattered not a whit to me. I enjoyed the parallel stories between the two birds and the joy that the owners received from their feathered show more companions. I also learned some things about composing music and the relationship between nature and art. The author has done her homework and presented a new way to ponder the harmony of life. show less

An excellent history of how one of the wildlife species most reviled by humans became the beloved muse of one of humanity's all-time favorite composers and musicians. I am an avid birder of many years and this book still taught me a lot about starling behavior, song and plumage, as well as shedding a welcomed light on the creative process and family life of the great composer. Entertaining, informative, and very likely to improve any reader's opinion of starlings. Well worth the read.

Haupt, a lifelong bird watcher, rescuer, and researcher wanted to study a starling, probably the most hated bird, and certainly not a protected species. Knowing a nest with its chicks would be destroyed, she "stole" one of the chicks and took it home, where it became a beloved family member. She combines her experience with the story of Mozart, who it is said, heard a birdsong closely resembling one of his compositions when he was passing a pet shop. He bought the bird on the spot, a starling who became a family pet named Carmen. Whether this story is accurate or not is debatable, but it illustrates the attraction that even a lowly creature can inspire. Haupt's book about a bird from the despised species contrasts with one of the most show more treasured composers.

Her story of Star is fascinating on its own, by weaving it with interesting information about Mozart makes it even more appealing. show less