The effect of flicker from fluorescent lights on mate choice in captive birds
The visual systems of birds are hypothesized to have higher temporal resolution than those of humans, suggesting that they may be able to perceive the flicker emitted from conventional low-frequency fluorescent lights (LF; 100 Hz in Europe, 120 Hz in the U.S.A.). These lights are commonly used in the housing of captive birds and this […]
Water bathing alters the speed-accuracy trade-off of escape flights in European starlings
Birds of most species regularly bathe in water, but the function of this behaviour is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that water bathing is important in feather maintenance, and hence should enhance flight performance. We manipulated European starlings’, Sturnus vulgaris, access to bathing water in a 2 × 2 design: birds were housed in aviaries either with […]
Successive negative contrast in a bird: starlings’ behaviour after unpredictable negative changes in food quality
In a successive negative contrast (SNC) procedure, subjects used to a familiar contingency are unexpectedly shifted to a less favourable one. Typically, mammals in the new condition show lower anticipatory and consummatory responses than controls that only experience the low contingency, but similar experiments in birds have failed to show SNC. We investigated SNC in […]
The effects of cage volume and cage shape on the condition and behaviour of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)
Cage size is widely recognised as an important determinant of captive animal welfare, but in contrast, cage shape has received far less attention. Husbandry recommendations for flying birds state that cages should be long in shape because this allows greater potential for flight. However, so far no studies have investigated the impact of cage shape […]
Does the flicker frequency of fluorescent lighting affect the welfare of captive European starlings?
It is common practice for captive birds to be kept under fluorescent lighting, which typically flickers at either 100 Hz (UK) or 120 Hz (USA). Such lighting was developed for human vision and it is thought that birds may be able to detect higher frequencies of flicker than humans. For humans, 100 Hz fluorescent lighting […]
Castration does not decrease nonreproductive aggression in yearling male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)
In the nonbreeding season, some bird species express high levels of aggression despite basal plasma testosterone (T) concentrations. Consequently, nonreproductive aggression is believed to be independent of plasma T. In the present study, we investigated the effect of castration on nonreproductive aggressive behavior in yearling male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). We paired castrated (Cx) with […]
Female presence affects male behavior and testosterone levels in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
In this study, we confronted individually housed male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) with a female conspecific for 60 min to study the consequences on behavior and plasma testosterone (T) concentrations. Control males experienced a similar procedure, the only difference being that they were tested in the absence of a female. Female presence significantly affected both […]
Short-term physiological and behavioural effects of high- versus low-frequency fluorescent light on captive birds
Experiments using captivebirds involve artificial lighting sources, which are often conventional low-frequency (LF; 100 Hz) fluorescentlight. Many bird species may be able to perceive the flicker emitted by these lights and this may have important consequences for their behaviour, physiology and welfare. We determined whether European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, react differently to being housed under […]
Testosterone increases repertoire size in an open-ended learner: An experimental study using adult male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)
Song in songbirds is a learned secondary sexual behavior, first acquired during a sensitive phase of juvenile development, which is affected by hormones such as testosterone (T). While the latter has received much attention, the potential involvement of T in the adult repertoire changes observed in a number of species is much less understood. Yet, […]
Hand rearing affects emotional responses but not basic cognitive performance in European starlings
Hand rearing is a common procedure in behavioural research on birds. While likely to produce tamer experimental animals, there is a risk that it could induce pathological changes in brain and behaviour similar to those seen in mammals that have experienced maternal separation. We explored the effects of hand rearing on the cognitive and behavioural […]