Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches
Published on: December 26, 2019
Developmental stress, social rank and song complexity in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
K A Spencer1, K L Buchanan, A R Goldsmith
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK. karen.spencer@bristol.ac.uk
Abstract:
Bird song is a sexually selected trait and females have been shown to prefer males that sing more complex songs. However, for repertoire size to be an honest signal of male quality it must be associated with some form of cost. This experiment investigates the effects of food restriction and social status during development on song complexity in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Birds that experienced an unpredictable food supply early in life produced a significantly smaller repertoire of song phrases than those with a constant food supply. Social status during development was also significantly correlated with repertoire size, with dominant birds producing more phrase types. This study therefore provides novel evidence that social as well as nutritional history may be important in shaping the song signal in this species.
Related Concept Videos
Components of Stress
Interestingly, the hidden cube faces also experience these stresses, equal and opposite to those on the...
Stress Concentrations
Stress Concentrations
The stress concentration...
General State of Stress
Specifically, consider a tetrahedral element where one face, labeled XYZ, is perpendicular to the line OA, and the remaining faces align with the coordinate axes with point O as the origin. At any point, such as point O, the stress tensor can be used to determine the stress...
Types of Stressors
Catastrophes
Catastrophes refer to large-scale, unpredictable events that create overwhelming stress and a sense of threat. Examples include natural disasters like...
Psychological Responses to Stress

