Food insecurity increases energetic efficiency, not food consumption: an exploratory study in European starlings.

Food insecurity-defined as limited or unpredictable access to nutritionally adequate food-is associated with higher body mass in humans and birds. It is widely assumed that food insecurity-induced fattening is caused by increased food consumption, but there is little evidence supporting this in any species. We developed a novel technology for measuring foraging, food intake and body mass in small groups of aviary-housed European starlings ().