Bird+Skeleton

=Evie's Bird Skeleton=

**Clues:**

 * It was found in a roof.
 * It has a very sharp and pointed beak.
 * It has feet with a backwards facing toe.

Perching birds have a backwards facing toe to grip well and curl around a branch when they land. So, it could be a blackbird, a sparrow, a starling, a swallow, a bellbird, a tui or a thrush. It has a sharp pointed beak so it either digs for worms, eats insects, or sips nectar from flowers. So it isn't a sparrow or a finch, because sparrows' and finches' beaks can crack seeds and need to be more rounded at the end. It was found in a roof, so that rules out all the birds except the starling.
 * Hmmm...**
 * Next clue...**
 * Next clue...**

So it must be a **starling**.
The starling gets its name from the tiny white stars that gleam, only in the summer, against its glistening dark feathers.
 * [[image:starling.jpg width="245" height="323"]] || ==Some interesting facts about starlings...==

Starlings nest in roofs but are often killed by rats.

Starlings came to NZ from Europe - 17 starlings in 1862. The early settlers cleared so much bush that insects and caterpillars had nowhere to live, so they began to live in the settlers' new pastures - and eat them! Starlings eat both insects and seeds, so they could eat seeds in the cold winters when insects weren't around. They are very good breeders. Their eggs only take 13-14 days to hatch.

Starlings can imitate sounds in their surroundings, like car horns and human speech patterns. || Heaps more detail about baby bird care **[|here]** || ====**If you find a baby starling wandering around the lawn....**==== If it has feathers leave it there. It needs to be on ground for a day or two to learn to fly. Its mother will be watching close by. Unfeathered babies can be returned to the nest. If you do decide it needs to be rescued, keep it warm in a small container lined with a crumpled towel, under a heat lamp.
 * [[image:starling_feeding.jpg]]
 * Temperature guide:**
 * unfeathered chicks: 90 degrees
 * chicks with some pin feathers: 85 degrees
 * fully feathered chicks: 75 degrees

**Feeding tips for starling orphans:**
**Never put liquids directly into the starlings mouth**. If it goes down the wrong way, the bird will drown. **Never hand-feed a baby bird earthworms.** They are often full of pararsites.

**Porridge Recipe for Starlings**
1 cup soaked dog/cat food (beef or chicken) 1/4 cup applesauce 1 hard-boiled egg Water     Mix everything together. Cut the end off a straw, at an angle, to make a scoop. Tap the bird's beak lightly. It will open its beak if it is hungry. Baby starlings need to be fed every 20 - 30 minutes! After 4 weeks, your bird will start feeding itself from a small container. ||