Raisin junkies in red wings: What the UCT starlings are teaching us

(by Petra Sumasgutner, Celiwe Ngcamphalala & Susan Cunningham)

Red-winged starlings are a lively part of campus life at the University of Cape Town — bold, vocal, and famously fond of stealing student snacks! These charismatic birds are also the focus of long-term research by the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology and the Konrad Lorenz Research Center, exploring how wildlife adapts to city living. By colour-ringing individuals and even training them to hop onto digital scales for raisins, researchers can study their lives non-invasively. During the COVID-19 lockdown, starlings lost about 3% of their body weight when campus food stalls closed, showing just how closely their fortunes are tied to ours. Yet, despite their junk-food habits, they feed their chicks only healthy foods like caterpillars and fruit, and they can even recognise “friendly” versus “threatening” humans. These clever, adaptable birds reveal how curiosity, learning, and flexibility help wildlife thrive in urban environments.

👉 Read the full story in Promerops, the magazine of the Cape Bird Club https://www.flipsnack.com/BB7D887A9F7/promerops-no-333-november-2025-vtiekjjzhm/full-view.html

photo: Susie Cunningham