I grew up--while not in open fields, farmland nor forests--in a fairly nature-based childhood nestled within the relatively safe confines of the suburbs. My childhood was predominantly in Columbia, Maryland, in the '70s, with its miles and miles of pathways, creeks aplenty and many thin slivers of woods abutted by housing developments and neighborhoods all…

I, unexpectedly, spent an unexpected amount of time watching--and listening to--this unexpectedly fascinating series of videos of a rescued-at-10-days-old starling bird (now eight years old, I believe) and his vocalizations. Fascinating. Starlings have mimicking capacities and this one--living in a human's house, and a home filled with animals (you can hear the purrs)--has quite a range.…