In the case of the superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) you really get what you see and what you see is a flamboyant, iridescent, bluish green and glossy darling. This sweetheart forages for insects in a gregarious chattering pack of startling beauty. But what really sets these African birds apart is that they are the embodiment of friendship and lifelong camaraderie.
A 20-year study has definitively demonstrated that superb starlings are big-time sharers and carers. Not just with their family members and those who share their DNA, which is fairly common in nature, but with unrelated chicks. Basically they feed their friend's offspring in a long-term reciprocal arrangement that has shown that in this species it is not just blood ties that lead to co-operative behaviour, but something ineffable and lovely — that mysterious thing called friendship. The friends feed each other’s babies over several breeding seasons, and though it has been a provocative idea for many scientists they have come to accept that the evidence points to this sort of behaviour being more widely spread than previously imagined.
Whales do it, primates do it, elephants and crows do it, vampire bats do it and even lance- tailed manakins do it. The manakins go down to the bar and support each other through the slings and arrows and the mostly lame attempts involved in picking up females. Wingmen for life, these South American birds.
If you had a change of mind or heart and wanted to leave the commune, you were given double your money back and sent on your way. Unfortunately, they would erect a tombstone in your name. You were literally dead to them.
There is a strict research code for sober-minded scientists who spend their days tracking the beasts and fowls of this earth — it encourages the scientists to maintain discipline in their emotions when confronted by the behavioural attributes of the creatures they are studying. The idea is to stay vigilant at all times lest they anthropomorphise their subjects and start to blur the boundaries between human attributes and those of the subjects.
I have always gone along with this notion — but lately I am questioning it. We presume that we live in a hierarchical world where we the humans are on top of the natural pile. Our behaviour is somehow superior or less prone to the base instincts of these bare naked creatures. We would like to believe that we bear far less resemblance to the millions of species populating the planet than the all-purpose artificial intelligence we are about to unleash on the world as soon as the current models shift into a higher gear.
Why then would we believe that two superb starlings would like each other for reasons other than genetic affiliation and hormones? Why would we allow ourselves to imagine that they are simply simpatico. That they just really like each other’s chirps or the particular shade of gloss of their friend’s plumage, that they feel warmly and altruistically towards the other, that they have a sudden onset of feeling that this particular superb starling is pretty damn wonderful and so they should hang out a little and shoot the breeze together and, yes, feed their chicks when the other is struggling with the effort of this whole parenting thing.
Friends are your chosen family says the mushy Instagram quote — they show loving kindness above and beyond the call of duty. Every text and phone call, coffee date and wingman operation is conducted out of choice not duty and that is what makes it superb. What is given and received in friendship is something greater than the sum of its parts — it may be the thing that elevates all of nature into a state of grace.
The classic story of Damon and Pythias, the two friends who had each other’s backs, is the Pythagorean ideal. I don’t expect my friend’s to step up like Damon if some crazy king (in this case Dionysus of Syria) wanted to test our friendship and condemned me to death. But I would really appreciate it if it came to pass. Pythias took the death sentence on the chin and asked for a day's grace so he could settle his affairs. Damon volunteered to stand in his stead and be executed if Pythias failed to return. Of course Pythias returned, and Dionysius of Syrah was so impressed he let them both off and begged to join their friendship circle. I don’t know if they made the circle bigger — Pythagoreans were pretty picky .
But they believed in the inherent joys of the chosen family above all else — friendship was considered one of the ultimate pleasures of life. A small afternoon walk shooting the breeze with your mates or taking a lovely evening meal together was a daily practice. They took the communal joys to their ultimate conclusion and put all their money into a pot to live and pursue mathematics together — forever.
If you had a change of mind or heart and wanted to leave the commune, you were given double your money back and sent on your way. Unfortunately, they would erect a tombstone in your name. You were literally dead to them.
Perhaps the Dalai Lama’s approach is a little less dramatic. He says : “I try to treat everyone I meet as if they were an old friend — this gives me a real sensation of happiness.” It could be what the superb starlings are feeling — but why would we believe they can feel a real sensation of happiness ? We need a long-term study for that.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.