Voice Common starling

the song of common starling




chattering calls of group



adult male singing , displaying long throat feathers



singing sturnus vulgaris, spring creek park, new york, usa.

the common starling noisy bird. song consists of wide variety of both melodic , mechanical-sounding noises part of ritual succession of sounds. male main songster , engages in bouts of song lasting minute or more. each of these typically includes 4 varieties of song type, follow each other in regular order without pause. bout starts series of pure-tone whistles , these followed main part of song, number of variable sequences incorporate snatches of song mimicked other species of bird , various naturally occurring or man-made noises. structure , simplicity of sound mimicked of greater importance frequency occurs. in instances, wild starling has been observed mimic sound has heard once. each sound clip repeated several times before bird moves on next. after variable section comes number of types of repeated clicks followed final burst of high-frequency song, again formed of several types. each bird has own repertoire more proficient birds having range of 35 variable song types , many 14 types of clicks.

males sing breeding period approaches , perform less once pairs have bonded. in presence of female, male flies nest , sings entrance, apparently attempting entice female in. older birds tend have wider repertoire younger ones. males engage in longer bouts of singing , have wider repertoires attract mates earlier , have greater reproductive success others. females appear prefer mates more complex songs, perhaps because indicates greater experience or longevity. having complex song useful in defending territory , deterring less experienced males encroaching.

singing occurs outside breeding season, taking place throughout year apart moulting period. songsters more commonly male although females sing on occasion. function of such out-of-season song poorly understood. eleven other types of call have been described including flock call, threat call, attack call, snarl call , copulation call. alarm call harsh scream, , while foraging common starlings squabble incessantly. chatter while roosting , bathing, making great deal of noise can cause irritation people living nearby. when flock of common starlings flying together, synchronised movements of birds wings make distinctive whooshing sound can heard hundreds of metres (yards) away.