Starling singing alternates with feeding but blurs as breeding demands rise

Evidence

Observations of a breeding colony of European starlings at the University Farm, Wytham (Oxfordshire, UK) by Wright and Cotton (1994) have demonstrated the alternation of singing momentum with feeding activity at the ground. This alternation occurred twice per hour, but as egg-laying time approached, the majority of birds spent their time close to the breeding colony. … This behavior decreased in sharpness and intensity later in the season when breeding behavior was more demanding: the switch between episodes of feeding and singing was less definite as the breeding season advanced. Singing time at the breeding stage represents a way to affirm social cohesion and to transmit a focused message to the females. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 117