Mozart and His Starling: The Bird That Sang His Music—And May Have Even Inspired It

Could Mozart’s music have been influenced by birds? It’s not as far-fetched as it might seem. We already know of cases where birds have learned and passed on human-made melodies, like the lyrebird that memorized and reproduced a flute player’s tune, even teaching it to other birds—a story you can read about here.

But long before this, Mozart himself may have had a similar experience with a rather unexpected muse: a starling that not only mimicked a theme from one of his piano concertos but also made its own creative adjustments. What followed was a connection that lasted for years, one that may have left subtle traces in his music and certainly left an impression on his life.

Mozart had a long-standing interest in birds, but this particular one stood out. On May 27, 1784, while in a Viennese pet shop, he heard a starling singing a tune that closely matched the final movement of his Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major. The bird, however, added its own little twist to the melody—where Mozart had written a G natural, the starling sang a G sharp.

Amused and impressed, the composer took the bird home for 34 kreuzers and recorded both the correct and the starling’s altered versions of the melody in his expense book, adding the note, “That was beautiful!”

Based on Mozart’s transcription, the starling mistakenly added a fermata on the last beat of the first full measure and sang a G♯ instead of a G in the next measure. Adjusting for these changes, the melody would have been:

The mystery of how the starling came to know this melody remains open to speculation. Since Mozart had finished the concerto about a month before purchasing the bird, some have suggested he may have frequented the shop and unknowingly taught it by whistling or humming during visits. Others wonder whether the bird’s version influenced Mozart’s own work. Either way, their musical connection was instant, and the bird became his companion for the next three years.

Starlings are highly skilled mimics, known to reproduce the sounds of their surroundings, including human speech and musical phrases. Mozart’s starling likely entertained him with its imitations, and it is possible that its presence shaped some of his compositions.

Though there is no direct proof that specific pieces were inspired by the starling, the playful, unpredictable, and sometimes offbeat quality of some of his later works suggests a possible link. One such piece, “A Musical Joke” (K. 522), composed shortly after the starling’s death, is full of deliberately awkward harmonies and unexpected shifts, almost mimicking the erratic but charming nature of a bird’s song.

Beyond this particular bird, Mozart’s affection for birds was evident throughout his life. In letters to his sister, he inquired about the health of a pet canary. His love for music seemed to extend to animals capable of imitating sound, and he may have found amusement and even inspiration in the way birds transformed melodies in their own way.

The starling remained an important part of Mozart’s household until its death on June 4, 1787. The loss affected him deeply, and he arranged a small funeral, complete with a procession and a poem he wrote in the bird’s honor. This personal tribute demonstrates how much the starling meant to him.

Mozart gave the bird a formal burial in the garden, which contemporary biographers noted as quite ceremonial. One spectator noted:

“When a bird died, he arranged a funeral procession, in which everyone who could sing had to join in, heavily veiled – made a sort of requiem, epitaph in verse.”

The same event is described by Franz Niemetschek, who had interviewed Constanze, Mozart’s wife:

“He often wrote verse himself; mostly only of a humorous kind. This was the case, among others, at the death of a much-loved starling, which he had given a proper gravestone in his hired garden, and on which he had written an inscription. He was very fond of animals, and – particularly – birds.“

Around the same time, Mozart’s father, Leopold, passed away, but due to distance and the communication delays of the period, Wolfgang did not attend the burial or play a role in organizing it. While some have pointed out the contrast between these two events, the difference seems to have been due to circumstance rather than any conscious choice on Mozart’s part.

Naturalist Lyanda Lynn Haupt explored Mozart’s relationship with his starling by adopting one herself, chronicling the experience in her book “Mozart’s Starling.”

For a deeper insight into this story, you might find the following video informative:

Mozart’s relationship with his starling shows a more personal and playful side of the composer, someone who found delight in the small things and who, in turn, may have been influenced by them. While this bird never performed on stage or received formal recognition, its song may still echo in the works of one of history’s greatest composers, woven into the fabric of his music in ways that can only be speculated upon.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5