Key finding: A study of 115 citizen‑submitted videos shows European starlings outperform many parrots at imitating R2‑D2 because starlings' syrinx can produce two simultaneous tones. Parrots cannot make multiphonic sounds, though small species like budgerigars and cockatiels mimic single‑tone beeps better than larger parrots. The research, published in Scientific Reports, suggests vocal anatomy — more than brain size — limits a bird's ability to copy complex robotic noises.
Why Starlings Sound More Like R2‑D2 Than Parrots — Anatomy Gives Them the Edge
Key finding: A study of 115 citizen‑submitted videos shows European starlings outperform many parrots at imitating R2‑D2 because starlings' syrinx can produce two simultaneous tones. Parrots cannot make multiphonic sounds, though small species like budgerigars and cockatiels mimic single‑tone beeps better than larger parrots. The research, published in Scientific Reports, suggests vocal anatomy — more than brain size — limits a bird's ability to copy complex robotic noises.
01:40, 08.11.2025Science
Starlings Outsing Parrots at Mimicking R2‑D2
Short answer: European starlings are better than many parrots at reproducing R2‑D2's high‑pitched, multitonal beeps because their vocal organ lets them produce two tones at once.
Researchers at the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University analyzed 115 volunteer‑submitted clips from the citizen‑science Bird Singalong Project to compare how well different songbird species imitate the iconic sounds of Star Wars' astromech droid R2‑D2. The team scored examples of both monophonic (single‑tone) and multiphonic (multi‑tone) imitations across nine parrot and European starling species.
Why starlings have the advantage
Birds' ability to mimic the droid comes down largely to anatomy. Starlings possess a syrinx with two independent sound sources, enabling them to produce multiphonic, multitonal calls that approximate R2‑D2's complex warbles. Parrots, by contrast, have a vocal tract shaped to produce one tone at a time and none of the parrot species in this sample reproduced the droid's multiphonic sounds.
Smaller birds do better with simple beeps
Although parrots couldn't match multiphonic noises, many could imitate simpler, single‑tone beeps and boops. Within parrots, smaller species such as budgerigars (budgies) and cockatiels were more accurate at reproducing monophonic R2‑D2 sounds than larger parrots like African greys and Amazons. The study also found that larger absolute brain size did not predict better mimicry; instead, vocal anatomy and relative brain region differences appeared more important.
Context: how R2‑D2's voice was made
For filmgoers, R2‑D2's voice was created by sound designer Ben Burtt using a ring modulator on an ARP 2600 synthesizer. That device blends input signals to produce multitonal outputs — the same kind of multi‑frequency effect that multiphonic syrinx anatomy can approximate.
Notes and limitations
These findings rest on volunteer videos, which can introduce sampling bias (enthusiasts may preferentially submit particularly talented birds). The study compares a limited set of species and uses observational clips rather than controlled laboratory recordings. Still, the results offer a clear, anatomically grounded explanation for why some songbirds imitate electronic noises better than others.
Bottom line: Anatomy, not just brain size, constrains what bird species can sound like — and that explains why the small, two‑toned syrinx of starlings is so good at sounding like a beloved droid.
Published in Scientific Reports; data drawn from the Bird Singalong Project and analyses by teams at the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University.