Amy,

When I first started working at the Slater Museum in Tacoma, I was
given a dead starling that had a bill exactly as you described, much
longer than a normal starling bill and downcurved. It is a specimen
in the museum now.

Dennis
-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382

Date: Tue, 02 May 2006 14:56:49 -0700
From: "amy schillinger" <schillingera at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] strange bird sighting in Seattle
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Message-ID: <BAY109-F287D83C3A1DAEBFA8270FDC8B60 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Tweeters,
I was at the Centennial Apartments at 4th and Wall streets in
Belltown early
Tuesday morning and caught a glimpse of what I thought at first to be a
starling. It was in a maple tree next to the patio. It was a bit
larger than
a starling but the strangest thing about it was the size and shape of
its
bill. It was very long (about 2-3 inches) and curved downward. I did
not see
the width or length of the tail and only got a quick look before it flew
off. Very dark bird from what I could tell. Very dark brown or black
even.
Has anyone else seen this strange bird? Do starlings suffer from beak
deformities? The bill was not crooked but seemed deeply curved like a
thrasher but even more so. Interesting indeed.
~Amy Schillinger
Rainier Audubon
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