All,
Regarding a blurb on pg 159 of Haupts new book: One thing about starlings
that is unusual among songbirds is that they are open-ended learners. Most
songbirds learn their species-specific calls and songs in the first year,
then theyre done theyve successfully learned the language of their
species. But starlings continue to learn new sounds, to bring in more
sophisticated motifs and sequences throughout their lives.
I had to confirm this by peeking at the BNA species account (Cabe, Paul
R.(1993).European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), The Birds of North America
(P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from
the Birds of North America:
https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/eursta)
I realize many of us are out chasing life birds, year birds, state birds,
county birds, patch birds, etc., but I found this section of the BNA account
interesting enough to share with IBLE.
Enjoy it if you have the time! =)
Larry
Sounds and Vocal Behavior
https://download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/25007261/medium
Enlarge
Figure 3. Starling songs and calls.
a. Attack (harsh) Call; b. Whistled Song, mimicry of Eastern Meadowlark
(Sturnella magna); c. meadowlark song for comparison.
https://download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/24993731/medium
Enlarge
Figure 4. Male Starling Wing-waving behavior.
Normally accompanies singing. The wings are outstretched and rotated quickly
(from Feare 1984 by J. Zickefoose).
Vocalizations
Development
Males begin singing a subsong at 3 mo of age which correlates with the adult
warbling song. Structure at first is quite variable, but it becomes clearer
and better organized with age. All basic features are acquired by 4 mo, with
motor-development complete by 9 mo (
Bohner et al. 1990). Males evidently learn from adults or other
environmental stimuli, as captive reared males show a depauperate repertoire
when compared to wild individuals. The whistled song of males appears
suddenly at about 10 mo, with a very precise structure. This coincides with
a change of bill color (a sign of breeding condition), perhaps indicating a
hormonal trigger.
Starlings are able to accurately learn songs regardless of levels of blood
androgens (
Bohner et al. 1990). They may continue to learn new song elements throughout
their lives (
Adret-Hausberger et al. 1990).
European Starlings are renowned mimics, and may learn from each other, birds
of other species, non-avian animals, and inanimate sources (
West and Stroud 1983,
Hausberger et al. 1991). Both males and females are able to mimic human
speech, and learning may depend on social context (
West and Stroud 1983).
Vocal Array
Starlings make an impressive range of sounds, including clear whistles,
liquid warbling, harsh chattering, high pitched trills, rattles, and
strident screams, in addition to mimicry of other sounds (see above).
Although the starling’s vocalizations sound quite variable and even garbled
at times, they are well organized. Vocalizations can be divided into the
structurally more simple calls used by both sexes and songs, used primarily
by the male.
Hartby (
Hartby 1969) named 10 calls used by both sexes on the basis of the context
in which they were most frequently heard: a near and distant begging call of
the young, flight and flock contact calls, 3 calls used in intraspecific
aggression, and 3 distress and danger calls. A copulation call of the female
was also recorded. Hartby’s names for calls are included for reference, but
should not be used to ascribe unequivocal function to the calls (see also
Feare 1984c). Some of the more common of these are the Flight Call (a
purring prurrp), frequently given when a bird takes flight or is released
after handling. The Threat Call, a rattling of varying duration, commonly
heard in wild starlings, especially when one or several birds land within
another group. The Attack Call (a scream incorporating mainly a harsh
chackerchackerchacker;
Figure 3a) is often
accompanied by a flapping physical encounter. The Threat Scream, a
high-pitched scream or trill is also used during intraspecific encounters,
sometimes accompanied by Wing-waving(see
Figure 4); a similar
vocalization and behavior is also frequently included in the warbling song
of males. The Warning or Mobbing Call (a metallic chip) is sometimes given
by a bird which alights in a pre-existing group, while entering or leaving a
roost, or given repeatedly while mobbing avian predators. A Distress Call or
Fear Squeal (a high-pitched, harsh, penetrating scream) is sometimes given
when a bird is attacked or caught by a predator, and also when caught in
mist nets (
Hartby 1969,
Feare 1984c). For sonograms see Hartby (
Hartby 1969).
Songs can be divided into loud whistled songs and softer, more complex
warbling songs (
Adret-Hausberger and Jenkins 1988). The whistled songs are louder and
simpler in structure, and can be divided into 8 classes: the rhythmic theme
containing repetition of a short (ca. 0.1 s) sound, the composed theme (a
whistle-like sound with harmonics), and 6 different types of whistle-like
songs without harmonics which are separated on the basis of rising or
falling pitch and inflection (
Figure 3b). Males
sing up to 5 species-specific themes, in addition to individual, often
mimetic themes (
Adret-Hausberger and Güttinger 1984).
Warbled songs are much more complex, typically lower in volume, longer in
duration (mean of ca. 40 s, up to 80 s) and may include numerous mimicries.
Each song bout consists of an unbroken string of relatively invariant units,
called types (
Eens et al. 1989) or motifs (
Adret-Hausberger and Jenkins 1988), which may include some elements of the
whistled song (
Eens et al. 1989).
Females also sing, especially in the fall (
Feare 1984c), and can be stimulated to sing by administering testosterone (
Hausberger and Black 1991). Females are capable of both the whistled song
and the warbling song, but usually lack some of the species-specific song
units of the males.
Mimicry is an important element in both the whistled and warbled songs (
Hausberger et al. 1991). Individuals may mimic up to 20 different calls. In
North America, commonly heard mimicries include the Eastern Wood-Pewee
(Contopus virens), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Eastern and Western
Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna and S. neglecta;
Figures 3b, c),
Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina),
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater),
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), American Robin (Turdus migratorius),
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), and many others. Mimicry may function
to increase the repertoire size and potential attractiveness of males.
Geographic variation in the species specific component of the whistled song
has been documented in Europe (
Adret-Hausberger and Güttinger 1984) and in introduced populations in
Australia (
Adret-Hausberger 1988), but not in North American populations. Where
documented, the organization is hierarchical, with some themes broadly
distributed while others are correlated with natural geographic barriers.
Phenology
Sing throughout the year, least in late summer, most early in the breeding
season.
Daily Pattern Of Vocalizing
In the fall and winter, may sing near nesting sites, with most singing
occurring between 07:00 and 11:00 (
Kessel 1957), but also in the evenings. During the breeding season, peak
activity morning and evening, but more continuous throughout the day.
Places Of Vocalizing
Males normally use a song perch 410 m from the nest site or a perch mounted
on a nest box, but occasionally sit on the ground under the nest site (
Eens and Pinxten 1990). This song perch may be shared with other males in
the vicinity (
Kessel 1957). Singing is sometimes heard at roosts, even at night.
Repertoire And Delivery Of Songs
The number of song types or motifs (see above) included in the warbling call
of male starlings is highly variable. Although first-year birds have smaller
repertoires, repertoire size is not correlated with age and is roughly
constant over time (
Adret-Hausberger et al. 1990). Repertoire sizes range from 2131 in yearling
males and 3567 in older males (
Eens et al. 1992, see also
Eens et al. 1991,
Adret-Hausberger et al. 1990). For individuals, analyzing 300400 song types
is usually sufficient to obtain the complete repertoire (
Eens et al. 1991).
The motifs or types are strung together to form a long sequence, or song
bout. The sequence may be quite rigid during the breeding season, but much
more diverse and variable in the fall (
Adret-Hausberger and Jenkins 1988). Song bouts usually begin with clear
whistles, followed by a number of motifs, each of which may be repeated 212
times, often ending with a series of high pitched squeals or trills
accompanied in males by Wing-waving (
Figure 4;
Adret-Hausberger and Jenkins 1988,
Eens et al. 1989). These terminal trills are similar to the Threat Scream
described by Hartby (
Hartby 1969, in
Eens et al. 1989).
Social Context And Presumed Functions
The warbled song is used primarily in mate attraction; males with longer
songs are more successful in attracting mates, and females prefer males with
longer, more varied songs (
Eens et al. 1991). Males also use the warbled song to invite or stimulate
their mates to copulate, and may also use this song to solicit other females
to copulate (
Eens and Pinxten 1990,
Eens et al. 1990).
The whistled song is used primarily during interactions between males, and
in response to vocal playback experiments (in
Adret-Hausberger et al. 1990).
Singing in females has been observed in interactions between two females
mated to the same male and between male/female pairs, but is apparently not
associated with agonistic interactions (
Hausberger and Black 1991).
Nonvocal Sounds
Bill clacking or rattling is often included in the warbled song of the male
(
Eens et al. 1989).
From: Larry Arnold [mailto:larnold47@cableone.net]
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2017 2:54 PM
To: Larry Arnold
Subject: hot off the press – Mozart’s Starling
Another new book recommended by Missy is this gem by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
(2017, Little, Brown and Company).
Yes, many of us on this continent might curse the European Starling as an
introduced pest, but this book will likely change how we think of them. For
starters:
On May 27, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling
in a Viennese shop who sang an improvised version of the theme from his
Piano Concerto no, 17 in G Minor. Sensing a kindred spirit in the plucky
little bird, Mozart bought him and took him home to be a family pet. For
three years the starling lived with Mozart, influencing his work during one
of his most productive periods, serving as his companion, distraction,
consolation, and muse.
Theres even a surprise bonus chapter entitled Chomskys Starling which
wasnt at all what I expected, in fact offering an interesting little twist!
=)
Just for fun, eh? Larry Arnold, Boise ID
