 The stouter build and more bent shape of the mandible shows that the Rodrigues starling used greater force than the hoopoe starling when searching and perhaps digging for food . It probably also had the ability to remove objects and forcefully open entrances when searching for food ; it did this by inserting its wedge @-@ shaped bill and opening its mandibles , as other starlings and crows do . This ability supports Tafforet 's claim that the bird fed on eggs and dead tortoises . It could have torn dead , presumably juvenile , turtles and tortoises out of their shells . Tafforet did not see any Rodrigues starlings on the mainland , but he stated that they could easily be reared by feeding them meat , which indicates that he brought young birds from a breeding population on Île Gombrani . Tafforet was marooned on Rodrigues during the summer and was apparently able to procure juvenile individuals ; some other Rodrigues birds are known to breed at this time , so it is likely that the starling did the same . 
