Food-seeking behavior has complex evolutionary pressures in songbirds: Linking parental foraging to offspring sexual selection

Abstract

The target article addresses increased food-seeking behaviors in times of instability, particularly in passerines. We note that food instability might have intergenerational effects on birds: Nutritional stress during development affects song-learning abilities, associating parental foraging with offspring sexual selection. We explore the implications of these compounding selection pressures on food-seeking motivation during breeding, as well as the hormonal underpinnings of these behaviors.