Being hungry will not sing

Sparrows that are short of food during the early days of life will not be able to learn songs to seduce their partners.

(Photo: chrisrose-artist, VNE)

If young birds lack nutrients, a part of the brain helps them learn to sing and identify songs that will not be fully developed.

Scott MacDougall-Shackleton at the University of Ontario in Canada and colleagues examined the brains of 26-day-old finches. During their short life, half eat and drink freely, the other half can eat only 2/3 of the average amount of food.

They found a part of the bird's brain, called the HVC region, much smaller in hungry birds."This brain region is very important for birds to learn to sing and create songs," MacDougall-Shackleton said.

Previous research also found that sparrows began singing lessons when they were at least 30 days old.

Researchers explain that the HVC region atrophies in starving birds is due to lack of protein for the brain to develop. Nutritional deficiencies also increase levels of stress hormones that affect brain development.