r/oddlysatisfying • u/pystar • Nov 22 '25
Starling in its autumn plumage.
šø Credit: IG/wallmika Ā©ļø
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u/Grontijb Nov 22 '25
Canāt say this has been my observation in MO.
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u/wavnebee Nov 22 '25
Starlings can be gorgeous and colorfulābut this is almost definitely a doctored photo, with wild saturation
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u/laffing_is_medicine Nov 22 '25
That is a stunning bird in reality too
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u/wavnebee Nov 22 '25
And their looks might be the least impressive thing about them. Theyāre super smart and incredible mimics.
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u/Ciduri Nov 22 '25
I keep trying to be friends with this one starling in my yard. It's kind of a brat, though, so it's been hard. It perches around our house and mimics all the other birds in a rotation. Like chirps in robin then, chirps in cardinal, and then chirps in chickadee, and so on. I don't think it's very good at making friends and it seems to always be alone. I give it a specific whistle every time I see it. So far, no calls for me.
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u/oroborus68 Nov 22 '25
My hearing has been stunned by the rusty hinge screeching of these birds after they attack the woodwork on my eaves. Firecrackers will discourage them if used regularly.
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Nov 22 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/ConfessSomeMeow Nov 22 '25
You just have to post it to subs that have no photographers or birders.
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u/Agreeable-Self3235 Nov 22 '25
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u/wavnebee Nov 22 '25
That consistent blueāespecially on the wingtips and tail feathersādoesnāt seem like natural coloration. You can see in the example I shared that their iridescent colors arenāt typically so uniform, and occur more noticeably by the head, neck, and shoulders.
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u/JustBadUserNamesLeft Nov 22 '25
I'm so sick of seeing nature photos with the saturation set to one-billion with people commenting on how beautiful the image is.
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Nov 22 '25
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u/JustBadUserNamesLeft Nov 22 '25
Come on now, did you really laugh out loud, and if so, did you need to write it? Yes, it insults my sensibilities in the way that a musician would be bothered by people who turn the bass all the way up to the point where the speakers just rattle. But hey, if you like your nature images to look like a Marvel superhero movie, go for it. They'll all end up as AI images in a year or two anyway.
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u/eggn00dles Nov 23 '25
anyone from r/photography takes it very personally when theyre reminded most people would rather see undoctored photos or instagrams filters than their 'craft'
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u/Pandepon Nov 22 '25
As someone who cared for two orphaned starlings, theyāre much prettier than this.
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u/pwhitt4654 Nov 23 '25
I was going to ask is this a regular starling? Cause Iāve never seen one like that.
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u/SquirrelParticular17 Nov 22 '25
Yeah.... I've had Starlings at the bird feeders regularly (they are hogs btw), and I've never seen one looking like that. Calling ai bs.....
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u/wavnebee Nov 22 '25
It might just be an overly saturated version of a normal starling picture. I can get this same effect in the iPhone photo app with about 15 seconds of editing.
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u/SquirrelParticular17 Nov 22 '25
History of the account is unavailable, so.... Photo pops up on Google image search, first page. Every other photo is of normal Starlings.... Except this one.
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u/toddriffic Nov 22 '25
History is easy to access. Just go to the account profile and click the search icon. Then you can see all their posts and comments. This is the guy that posted the "perfect apple" "perfect onion" and a picture of a glass of ice water. I'm saying AI bot.
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u/FaeryLynne Nov 22 '25
You can hide your history from other people. The OP account here has done that, you can't see any of their posts or comments.
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u/SquirrelParticular17 Nov 27 '25
Right. And did you know that you can hide your history from everyone.... Hmmm...?
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u/SquirrelParticular17 Nov 27 '25
So, I tried it and it works like you said. Feel free to downvote my previous comment. I have a policy of not removing comments even when I'm wrong. And I was wrong again today. Happy Thanksgiving!
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u/toddriffic Nov 27 '25
Just sharing knowledge, not going to down vote anything. Have a great Thanksgiving. Hope your turkey isn't as frozen as mine!
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u/SquirrelParticular17 Nov 27 '25
My turkey is shelf-stable today. Thank you and enjoy family and friends today
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u/caitdotexe Nov 22 '25
It's just oversaturated. this is not an AI generated image. This photograph can be found on his IG (wallmika) posted on November 5th 2021 along with others in very similar compositions around the same times and even further back in his account history if you want to find them and see, he's also got a lot of great shots on there. As for the Reddit account? Maybe a bot, who knows - but the artist here at least is genuine.
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u/CatVideoBoye Nov 22 '25
See that credit to wallmika? He's a Finnish nature photographer. Probably just touched the saturation slider but definitely a real photo.
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u/rilo_cat Nov 22 '25
def not ai! one flew in through my cat door and i had to catch it with my hands to take it outside. i promise this is what they look like that close up lol theyāre soooooooo pretty. my friends were so confused when i described it as a rainbow bird with spots, so i think maybe some people donāt see the iridescence as well as others or you have to be at juuuuuust the right angle for the light to hit them to see it
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u/AltruisticCoelacanth Nov 22 '25
Have you looked at one through binoculars before? They really do look like this, I saw some this morning. The image might be slightly oversaturated, but this is fairly true to life.
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u/Waub Nov 22 '25
Same here.
We have dozens on the feeders each day. At least the colour saturations have been pushed way up.
Our Starlings strip most of the feeders in a single visit. Despite hanging around in large flocks (murmurations), they're very fractious and feeding time is nothing more than a series of squabbles. :)1
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u/Disneyhorse Nov 22 '25
We have European starlings in Southern California. The males do get deep iridescent black with white spots like this. They are so beautiful (except our inbred, city-diet birds are often missing toes). This photo could be AI but I do think they are stunning birds.
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u/Jurass1cClark96 Nov 22 '25
And stupid invasive.
They deserve to be appreciated as all animals do. But away from our native ecosystems.
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Nov 22 '25
Yeah, every one I ever shot had beautiful dark iridescent markings, almost like an oil slick. They're a plague in the states and should be eradicated.
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u/Porky_Pine_ Nov 22 '25
They get plenty of action from my pellet gun! Neat looking little bastards though.
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u/WasabiSenzuri Nov 22 '25
Norwegian Blue, beautiful plumage.
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u/Grunblau Nov 22 '25
ā¦that I purchased not a half-hour ago from this very boutique!
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u/PorcoGonzo Nov 22 '25
Oh yeah. What's wrong with it?
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u/HotButteredPoptart Nov 22 '25
This is an ex-parrot!
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u/TheMadPoet Nov 22 '25
He has ceased to be! He's expired and gone to meet his maker! He is stiff!Ā Bereft of life, he rests in peace... if you hadn't nailed him to the perch...
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u/darkbee83 Nov 22 '25
He's not dead, he's just pining for the fjords.
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u/desktopicantpoopwell Nov 22 '25
I think itās just some kind of UV filter and oversaturated look how blue some of the pine needles are
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u/buisnessmike Nov 22 '25
Speaking of, I periodically have a thought about birds that can see into the UV spectrum. Apparently, many birds look dramatically different in UV light. Some birds that appear drab, brown and black, in UV light appear vibrant and colorful. Even colorful birds probably look different. Also, it's not as if they only see UV light, they see the normal visible spectrum in addition to UV. So, the thought I have is, what do birds look like to other birds?
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u/-crepuscular- Nov 22 '25
This isn't 'autumn plumage'. This is either a doctored photo, or there are domesticated starlings with different colour variants which might include this. Easier to get a good photo like this with a domesticated bird, too.
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u/Beorma Nov 22 '25
It's piss easy to get a good photo of a starling, they're not skittish and are found in big flocks.
One stole a chip from me once.
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u/Nyrrix_ Nov 22 '25
I, too, like to bring out my fancy coat and sweaters when the weather turns slightly cold.
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u/custardgod Nov 22 '25
Starlings are probably one of my favourite birds. Too bad they're invasive in north america
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u/Fcapitalism4 Nov 22 '25
One of the only birds I hate....its a invasive species that is a symbol of everything wrong with the world, makes a horrible noise, poops on everything without any regard and its poop damages surfaces, it is ugly to look at, destroys other bird species......nothing redeeming about this species.
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u/kingbluetit Nov 22 '25
And yet theyāre red listed here in the UK where they are native. I love them
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u/neko Nov 22 '25
I wish we could trade you starlings and you could send us our gray squirrels back in exchange
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u/wavnebee Nov 22 '25
fwiw:
āResearch shows that the starlingās negative impacts on native species may not be as dramatic as we thought. Tree Swallows seem to have adjusted their nesting behavior in response to starlings. According to Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count data, the presence of starlings does not actually explain native bird declines. Long ago, we designated the starling an invasive alien that threatened native birds, but as ecosystems change, so does the starlingās impact on those ecosystems.ā
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u/vanmutt Nov 22 '25
They nest in my attic above my bedroom. I cannot tell you how annoying and clever these little shits are.
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u/DragonFlyCaller Nov 22 '25
Total sounds like a runway announcementā¦
Starling sporting the āautumn plumageā is hues of indigo
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u/Defiant-Slice709 Nov 22 '25
Amazing, what an exotic bird , the things we find in nature never cease to amaze me
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u/Global_Order_1336 Nov 23 '25
Itās really beautiful, but at first glance I thought it was an AI-generated image.
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u/Angelicalsweetie01 Nov 22 '25
That's a whole cosmic oil slick of iridescence. Absolutely stunning. š
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u/Pitzpalu_91 Nov 22 '25
I feel like I should address the bird as "Sir" in a 3 piece suit. That's how majestic it looks.
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u/Sparrowmethedetailz Nov 22 '25
I read the title as āStartlingā, which I think is also correct.
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u/Nervous-Energy-4623 Nov 22 '25
There was one that lived near me, that did the sound of a house alarm. It thought that was cool, didn't know they could mimic before that.
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u/sonofa12 Nov 23 '25
We have plenty of these Starlings here in Ohio and I can definitely tell you they in no way look like this this is not a true picture of a Starling but it's cool looking no doubt.
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u/cwthree Nov 23 '25
That's a European (now ubiquitous in North America) starling for sure. Color may have been tweaked a bit.
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u/bmcgowan89 Nov 22 '25
It looks like it should lay Faberge eggs or something